King David. Whenever people talk about him, they usually mention one of two things: he’s the kid that killed the giant, or he’s the adulterer who murdered a woman’s husband. Once, when asked about him being a man after God’s own heart, I heard a preacher say, ‘Well, maybe when he was singing psalms in the desert, but after what happened with Bathsheba…’

Both these instances, while certainly big events in David’s life, fall far short of defining the character of the greatest king of Israel ever to live on earth --- at least until Jesus returns.

 

A Covenant Man

David’s childhood must have been a lonely one. Clearly, he had no favor with his own father who sent him out to tend the sheep and left him there alone when the most recognized prophet in Israel came to a feast and to anoint the new king. It wasn’t until the prophet required him that he was brought in.

Even his brothers disdained him, as shown with their accusations of pride and imposition when he brought supplies for them at what they called a battle but was in essence the covenant people cowering before a demonic bully. Clearly, it had happened before, and likely more than once; prompting David to ask, “What have I done now?” Yet, he didn’t respond; with anger or offense just turned away and moved on.

As a young Jewish boy, David would have been well acquainted with the Abrahamic Covenant God had with Israel. He leaned in hard to that covenant as he spent those solitary hours alone with the sheep. It caused him to open his soul to intimacy with God and to fellowship with him in worship and prayer; praying prayers such as Psalm 27:4:

One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.

As a shepherd, he learned to trust in the shepherdship of God, as we see so clearly in Psalm 23:

1The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not [a]want.
2He makes me to lie down in [b]green pastures;
He leads me beside the [c]still waters.
3He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will [d]dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

His faith, trust and intimacy with God gave him the courage and strength to rescue the sheep from enemies like the lion and the bear. It taught him wisdom he would need to shepherd God’s people well.

It was that covenant confidence he carried to the battlefield that gave him the courage to defeat Goliath.

 

A Man of Honor, Humility and Patience

 

Even after his great victory over Goliath, and Israel’s subsequent rout of the Philistine army, and though he’d been anointed king, David didn’t exalt himself and attempt to usurp Saul’s position. Instead, he served Saul and furthered his interests, doing whatever was requested of him.

When Saul became obsessed with his destruction, David would not raise a hand against him, though he had multiple opportunities to do just that and was even urged by his companions to do so. Instead, he chose honor, trusted the Lord and waited on His deliverance and vindication.

His hunger was always to honor God, so much so, that once he was made king, he eagerly sought to bring back the ark of the covenant to Israel. When he failed so miserably, he humbled himself before the Lord to find the right way to do it and successfully bring the presence of the Lord back to Israel.

 

What We Can Learn from David’s Mistakes

 

In his failure with the ark of the covenant, David hadn’t sought the Lord for the correct way to fulfill his desire to bring it back to Israel. Instead, he jumped out and did what he thought would suffice. God has a way of doing and being right and we should always seek that guidance and obey it if we wish to see victory.

While we don’t know why David stayed behind when he should have been at war with his troops, what we do know is that if he’d been where he should have been instead of on the roof that night, he would never have seen Bathsheba bathing, committed an immoral act by bringing her to him and subsequently tried to cover it by first trying to make it look like her husband had fathered the child and when that didn’t succeed, having him killed.

In both these instances though, instead of attempting to justify himself, David was quick to repent when he realized his wrong; an attribute highly pleasing to God.

 

The Final Takeaway

 

One of the foremost facets of David’s character, is his love for and desire for God. His heart was always to build a house for Him, to serve and fellowship with Him. Unlike so many before him, even after all his years, successes and wealth, his great desire was to build that house and even though the Lord wouldn’t allow him to because of his bloody battles, he assured that his son had everything he needed to accomplish it.

When we study David’s life, we find that what made him a man after God’s own heart was his desire for intimacy with the Lord and the heartfelt worship that poured forth from it, his trust and confidence in Him, his honor for and humility toward God and toward people and his quick repentance when made aware of his sin.

We would do well to follow the example of his character: seek intimacy with the Lord, be guided by His Word, quick to repent when we blow it and always trust in Him.