Posted by I’ve been teaching through the early life of David. I have been covering his days as a shepherd boy through his ascension to the throne of Israel. It has been an interesting series of sermons to prepare. I love the historical narratives in the Bible. I enjoy the accounts of the men and women that came onto the scene of history and left an impact that has lasted for thousands of years. People like Moses, Sarah, Jacob, Ruth, Joshua, Rahab, and many more were a part of God’s plan for humanity. David is one of the most important men in God’s plan for Israel and all people. When we think of David we think of two parts of his life, defeating Goliath and being the king of Israel. There were a lot of years and lessons between those two events, and that is where I have been spending some time studying and teaching.
I was speaking with a good friend about David, and he told me he could relate to David, and I asked him how. He told me he could relate to David because of all of his shortcomings and failures. I can agree with this statement. David is seen as one of the greatest men in the Bible. The books of 1st and 2nd Samuel record his life. He is mentioned 1,080 times in the Bible. He wrote 75 of the psalms. The Messiah Himself is referred to as the Son of David. His exploits in battle are legendary. He was a great warrior and leader of men, but behind all of these accomplishments, he had many struggles.
The Bible doesn’t gloss over David’s failings and sins. Let’s take a moment and run down a few of the things David did that were definitely outside of God’s statutes and laws. He took more than one wife which the Bible said the king shouldn’t do. Deuteronomy 17:17 says, ” The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.” David had a minimum of seven wives. That number may have been more. We also know he had a large number of concubines. He had a man murdered after he slept with the man’s wife and she became pregnant. That’s a pretty big deal. He dealt with moments of despair so deep he asked if God had abandoned him. This is quite a thought coming from the “man after God’s own heart.” Psalm 13:1 speaks of one of these moments, “O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way?” He isn’t showing much trust in the Lord and His plan in that moment. He was not a very good father. He was too permissive with his children. He simply doesn’t seem to discipline them as he should have, and this will lead to the rebellion of his son Absalom. His own son will run him out of Jerusalem as he takes the throne from his father. That’s quite a list, and I could list more. I relate to David’s failures because I have so many myself. It gives me hope that God could use David as He did despite all the things David struggled with.
Where I think many of us, myself included, can’t relate to David is in how he dealt with his sin and failures. Over and over when David is confronted with his sin he deals with it. He repents, and that repentance comes across as a man sincerely upset over his sin. He doesn’t make excuses. He just seems to own it. Do you relate to David when it comes to the repentance part of the equation when it comes to sin? Understand repentance isn’t just being sorry for whatever sin we make be entangled with, but it is the idea of changing your mind, rejecting the sin, and changing your behavior. That’s the part we need to seek to relate in our personal lives the most with David. That is how he is a man after God’s own heart. He was broken over his sin. He viewed sin like God did when he came to a point of repentance. Take a moment and go read Psalm 51. David wrote it after he was confronted by the prophet Nathan about his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah. It is a stunning admission of guilt with no excuses. He appeals to God’s grace and asks for forgiveness and restoration.
I think this is how we should strive to relate to David. Not just that he was a sinner. We are all sinners, but more importantly in how he dealt with his sin. He greived over his sin. He was broken hearted that he had broken God’s law. He took God’s commands seriously. He desperatley wanted to be right with God, and he was willing to admit he was wrong to get to that place. I relate to David when it comes to his failings, but I want to relate more to him when it comes to how seriously he wanted to deal with those things, and find favor in God’s eyes because he was living according to His Word.
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