David

God’s birthplace

David said, “The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob” (Psalm 87:2). The word translated loveth, ’âhêb (aw – habe´) “is equivalent to the English ‘to love’ in the sense of having a strong emotional attachment to and desire either to possess or to be in the presence of the object” (157).

Zion is one of the hills on which Jerusalem stood. David captured it and called it the city of David after he conquered the Jebusites when he was made king of all Israel. Zion represented a significant victory for David and marked a turning point in his relationship with the LORD. After the city of David was established, there was a time when God’s promises were no longer being fulfilled, but were being enjoyed by David.

David no long had to believe in God’s faithfulness, he could see it. Sometimes when we are exercising our faith, we think that we know how God is going to work things out for us and therefore, that we understand his ways. When God does actually work things out, we see that the result is nothing at all like we expected. God is in the business of doing the impossible. We cannot even imagine what he is going to do because we always think in terms of what is possible.

The key to praying effectively is to realize that we do not know what God is doing. Although God has an individual plan for each of our lives, God has a master plan that encompasses every detail of every life throughout eternity. Answering our prayers is only a part of why God seeks to have a relationship with us. The real reason God develops our faith is so that he can use it to answer other people’s prayers.

David’s conquest of the Jebusites and occupation of Zion made it possible for a new covenant to be established. The covenant God made with Abraham was a stepping stone. The Israelites had to be dwelling in the Promised Land before a new covenant could be made in which a savior would be born that would take away the sins of the world. Once Zion was occupied, the Messiah’s birthplace was secured.

True happiness

I am a results oriented type of person. I like it when I accomplish things and can say that it gives me a lot of happiness when things work out the way I want them to. I think this is what God intended when he decided to bless Abraham and his descendants. One aspect of being blessed is prosperity, but I think happiness has more to do with results than it does the kind of results we get. In fact, “the state that the blessed one enjoys does not always appear to be ‘happy'” (835).

David said about the LORD, “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand” (Psalm 84:10) and he identified three ways that someone could be blessed. “Blessed are they that dwell in thy house…Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee…Blessed is the man that trusteth in thee” (Psalm 84:4,5,12). David’s view of being blessed involved connection with the LORD and in essence was about having a relationship with the God.

Connection with God produces results. One of the results of being connected to God is righteousness. David said, “Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps” (Psalm 85:13). The word translated righteousness is tsedeq (tseh´ – dek). Tsedeq is a relational word that has to do with being faithful to each other’s expectations (6664). From this perspective, you could say that righteousness is about never being disappointed.

Another result of being connected to God is peace. David said, “I will hear what God the LORD shall speak: For he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints” (Psalm 85:8). The word translated peace, shâlôm (shaw – lome´) is derived from the word shâlam (shaw – lam´) which means to finish or complete (7999). When I finish something, the feeling I get is peace. There is usually  a sense of satisfaction, just because the job is done, but there is also a relief if I know it is complete and I will hot have to do the task ever again.

David said in Psalm 85, “Mercy and truth are met together: Righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalm 85:10). The idea of righteousness and peace kissing each other is that joining the two together produces a good result or a better result than if they were not joined together. If I complete an assignment and am not disappointed, I will be better off than if I completed it, but am disappointed with the result. It doesn’t give me much satisfaction to complete something if I don’t like what I end up with.

Mercy and truth are like peanut butter and jelly, salt and pepper, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Each half of the pair can exist independently and bring pleasure, but when you combine them, it is like magic. The result is phenomenal; nothing can be compared to it. Mercy and truth make it possible for me to live my life with no regrets. The affect of mercy and truth coming in contact with each other (God) in my life is that I no longer want to do things that will make me unhappy.

For example, if I were to complete a bank robbery and escape with a million dollars and never get caught, I would have to live the rest of my life with the guilt of committing a crime and lying to protect myself. Even though I would be rich, I could not live the same way I would if I had earned the money. Mercy and truth make me do the right thing not only so that I will be satisfied with the result, but everyone around me will be satisfied also. The word mercy or checed in Hebrew “refers primarily to mutual and reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties of a relationship” (2617).

The basis of truth is trustworthiness. Another way of looking at truth is believing or trusting in something or someone (539). The more trustworthy I am, the more people will want to be around me and be a part of my life. Although I would like to think that it only matters if I am happy, the truth is that if everyone around me is unhappy, my happiness will be more difficult to maintain. Sometimes the best way to achieve happiness is to make sure everyone else is happy. Although  I cannot make anyone happy, I know I can make them unhappy by doing things that are mean or spiteful. Mercy and truth make me realize that happiness is found in relationship, and therefore the more relationships I have, the more I can be truly happy.

Unfinished business

Some people have a problem with unfinished business. Whether it is making your bed before you leave in the house in the morning or returning a call from a prospective client before you go home for the night, there are certain things that have to be done or you feel unsettled, unable to rest or enjoy yourself.

When Abner came to David to offer his support, David brought up some unfinished business that he wanted Abner to take care of. “And he said, Well; I will make a league with thee: but one thing I require of thee, that is, Thou shalt not see my face, except thou first bring Michal Saul’s daughter, when thou comest to see my face” (2 Samuel 3:13).

Michal loved David and she had helped him escape from her father when Saul was trying to kill David. “But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish” (1 Samuel 25:44) after David left in order to spite him. The betrayal hurt David and caused him to be disgraced among the people of Israel. He didn’t feel he could effectively reign over the kingdom until his wife was returned to him.

In Psalm 45, David said, “The king’s daughter is all glorious within: Her clothing is wrought of gold. She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: The virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee. With gladness and rejoicing shall they be brought: They shall enter into the king’s palace” (Psalm 45:13-15). It was a great moment for David when Michal joined him in the king’s palace. David’s victory over Saul was marked by the return of his devoted wife, Saul’s daughter Michal, to his side, but there was some other unfinished business that still needed to be taken care of.

In Psalm 43, David said, “Why art thou cast down O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me?” (Psalm 43:5) and in Psalm 44, “Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbors a scorn and derision to them that are round about us” (Psalm 44:13). After the Philistines killed Saul and his sons, the people of Israel, “forsook the cities and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them” (1 Samuel 31:7), so David prayed to the LORD, “Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercy’s sake” (Psalm 44:26).

In Psalm 49, David used a parable to evaluate his situation from an eternal perspective. David compared the person that trusts in his wealth to the upright man that puts his trust in God. David concluded, “Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning” (Psalm 49:14). David realized that some business cannot be taken care of in a day or may be left until death brings about a change in circumstances. The ultimate victory for David was that death was not the end. Because God’s kingdom is eternal and will continue after death, David said:

They that trust in their wealth, and boast of themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him…But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: For he shall receive me. Selah. (Psalm 49:6-7, 15)

Who’s your daddy

Your family and its history have a lot to do with who you become. Even though God creates each one of us as an individual with unique characteristics, the influence of our family ultimately determines what the final outcome will be when it comes to who we are and what we do in our lives.

“And Ram begat Amminadab; and Aminnadab begat Nahshon, prince of the children of Judah” (1 Chronicles 2:10). The name Nahshon or Nachshôwn (Nakh – shone´) in Hebrew means enchanter (5177). Nachshon is derived from nâchash (naw – khash´) which means “to hiss, i.e. whisper a (magic) spell” (5172). “And Nahshon begat Salma, and Salma begat Boaz and Boaz begat Obed, and Obed begat Jesse” (1 Chronicles 2:11-12) the father of David.

David had seven brothers and at least two sisters. His sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail had four sons, Abishai, Joab, Asahel, and Amasa who were among David’s mighty men, Joab being commander of David’s army after he became king. These men were not born into a good family. They did not have the advantage of money and education. They were shepherds.

It says in 1 Samuel 22:1-2:

David therefore departed thence, and escaped to the cave Adullam: and when his brethren and all his father’s house heard it, they went down thither to him. And every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented, gathered themselves unto him.

David changed the course of his family’s history when he became king of Israel. During the years that he was hunted by Saul, David and his family were transformed. They did not become a family of royalty, living in the lap of luxury, they were warriors, adept at traveling the countryside unnoticed until they decided to engage in warfare. They frustrated their enemies and were feared by all who came in contact with them.

David’s mighty men were the best of the best because of their courage and willingness to risk their lives for David’s cause. It’s no wonder they were extremely successful because they had nothing to lose and everything to gain if David became king. I believe the reason David did not give up when he was discouraged was he did not want to disappoint the men who had stood by him and protected him against Saul’s army.

Your heart’s desire

When God sets out to do something, he always succeeds. His work is described with words like amazing, awesome, spectacular, and fantastic. David said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork” (Psalm 19:1). I believe David chose the heavens as an example of God’s amazing work because nothing can be compared to it. It is far superior to anything else we can think of or imagine doing ourselves.

Next to God’s creation, David compared his law and says, “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul” (Psalm 19:7). “The process called conversion or turning to God is in reality a re-turning or a turning back again to him from whom sin has separated us, but whose we are by virtue of creation, preservation and redemption” (7725). The word translated converting, shûwb (shoob) is also translated as repent and return. “The basic meaning of the verb is movement back to the point of departure” (7725).

In regards to the sin that has separated us from God, it is not always our sin, but sometimes the sin of others that causes us to turn away from God. The important thing is that there is a turning point, a time when you have consciously chosen to walk in the pathway of sin rather than righteousness. Even though we all sin and from a very young age know the difference between right and wrong, we do not necessarily follow a pathway of sin just because we have sinned. The turning point when we consciously decide to ignore the rules and follow our own desires is what separates us from God and makes it impossible for him to guide our footsteps from day to day.

When a person is converted, repentance causes him to want to get back on the pathway of righteousness. David said about converting the soul that “The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes” (Psalm 19:8).

Once conversion has taken place, it is possible for God to guide our steps again, but he does not always guide us to the same destination he originally planned to. Along with conversion, there is often a new calling or vocation for one’s life such as when Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle. In the process of conversion, the turning point becomes the focal point around which everything centers from that time forward. What was once a point of departure becomes a launching pad for a new life in fellowship with God.

Inside every person is a longing, a secret desire that only God knows about. It is so personal and intimate that to discuss it with anyone would take so much courage that you would rather die than let it be known. As a shepherd, tending his father’s flock, David may have secretly desired to be king of Israel, but it wasn’t until Samuel showed up and anointed him that it became David’s destiny. When a person is converted, that which was a secret is brought into the light and made to happen. David said after the LORD made him king, “Thou hast given him his heart’s desire” (Psalm 21:2).

Don’t be a fool

God exists outside of time, therefore, the past, present, and future are all the same to him. He does not see things as a stream of events that occurs from one day to the next, but sees the entire picture of life as a whole, nothing is missing from his viewpoint.

David summarizes God’s viewpoint in Psalm 14. It begins with a description of man’s fallen condition:

The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:1-3)

Some people may think that the Israelites were God’s chosen people because they were better than everyone else or that as a result of God choosing them they would become better than everyone else, but the truth is that they were just as corrupt as the rest of the world. There was no way for them to be different until Jesus came.

The course of the Israelites’ history is similar to every person’s that comes to know God in that the pathway from corruption to everlasting life always includes repentance. David ends Psalm 14 with the return to prosperity:

O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion! When the LORD bringeth back the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad. (Psalm 14:7)

David says “when” the LORD bringeth back the captivity because it had not yet happened. David is not referring to the Israelites exodus from Egypt, but a future event that was revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. Psalm 14 presents God viewpoint from an Old Testament perspective. If all you had was Psalm 14, you would think that a return to prosperity was all there was to life. Just as death is not the end of life, a return from captivity is not all there is to God’s big picture of life.

The difference between God’s viewpoint and ours is that his extends into eternity. The Holy Spirit makes it possible for us to see things from beginning to end so that life makes sense, but sometimes we are allowed to see beyond the end, or what appears to be the end, of life into eternity. David was given a glimpse into life beyond death and provides us with a snapshot of heaven in Psalm 16:

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth, my flesh also shall rest in hope: For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou wilt shew me the path to life: In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. (Psalm 16:9-11)

God’s big picture viewpoint makes it possible for him to guide us through the obstacles of life and reach our final destination without having missed any of the milestones that are required for eternal existence. Since we know very little about eternity, there is no way we can prepare ourselves for it without God. That’s why it is only the fool who says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1).

Good as new

To be healed means that you are restored to normal. The normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees and normally a hand has five fingers, but for some things, normal is not so obvious. For instance, what does it mean to be restored to normal if you have been raped?

David said, “O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed” (Psalm 6:2). The word translated vexed, bâhal (baw – hal´) means “to tremble inwardly (or palpitate)” or figuratively to become suddenly alarmed or frightened (926). To be healed of such a condition could mean that confidence is restored or that David would become calm and peaceful within himself.

After God established his covenant with Abraham, normal for the Israelites was living in the Promised Land in peace and prosperity. Throughout Israel’s history, there were occasions when God remembered his people and would take action to fulfill his covenant with Abraham. David said, “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:3-4).

The word translated mindful, yâkar (yaw – kar´) means to remember (2142). David was pondering God’s covenant with Abraham compared with the vast expanse of the universe. God created millions of stars and planets and yet he focuses his attention on one of them and can focus his attention on one man, one promise, and even one act, to restore David to normal when his bones were vexed and about to become king of Israel.

One of the reasons and maybe the primary reason that God heals people is so that they will praise him. David said, “I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart: I will shew forth all thy marvelous works” (Psalm 9:1). Marvelous works can only be done by God. Pâlâ’ (paw – law´) means to be beyond one’s power to do (6381). When I am extremely sad, I cannot make myself stop crying or if I am terrified, I cannot make myself stop trembling, but God can. It says of the word pala’, “God does not require anything of his people that is too hard for them (Deut 30:11). Although something may appear impossible to man, it still is within God’s power” (6381).

God’s goal for his people is to deliver them from oppression. David said, “LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress” (Psalm 10:18). The word translated oppress, ‘ârats (aw – rats´) means to dread. When I was married, I used to dread having sex because of the fear and anxiety associated with being raped. In one sense, God healed me when I was divorced from my husband because I was no longer sexually active and did not have to dread having sex anymore; but, I believe God wants to do a marvelous work in my life. I believe someday I will have normal sex, when I am married to a man that loves me.

Giving credit where credit is due

When God redeems a man, he is exercising his complete, sovereign freedom to liberate a human being. Redemption involves some intervening or substitutionary action which effects a release from an undesirable condition (6299). Jesus’ death on the cross effected the release of every person from the bondage of sin and death. No other person ever has or ever will die for the sins of another. God chose to liberate man from his sin nature and offers redemption from sin to anyone who desires it.

Rechab and Baanah thought they were doing David a favor when they killed Saul’s son Ish-bosheth and brought his head to David as evidence (2 Samuel 4:8). What they didn’t understand was that Ish-bosheth was not a threat to David. David was not distressed about Ish-bosheth’s appointment as king of Israel. David declared to Rechab and Baanah that the LORD had redeemed his soul from all adversity. What David meant was that Ish-bosheth’s sin  no longer had any effect on David’s life because David had been redeemed from all sin, not just his own.

The sins that usually hurts us the most are sins that are committed against us. When God redeems a man from sin, he does not just release him from the effect of his sins, but the sins of everyone else also. When I was 14, I was raped and it had an extremely negative effect on my life. I suffered a great deal of adversity as a result of someone else’s sin. It wasn’t until I realized that Jesus died for that person’s sin against me that I was freed from the effect of that sin on my life.

David described Ish-bosheth as a righteous man (2 Samuel 4:11). The word David used for righteous, tsaddîyq (tsad – deek´) means just. It is said that a Christian is justified by the death of Jesus on the cross; it is just as if the person had never committed a sin. If a sin has never been committed, then there can be no effect from it. What David was doing was crediting Ish-bosheth’s sin to Jesus and claiming redemption from that sin. It was not going to have any effect on him and therefore, Ish-bosheth’s murder was unnecessary.

Every sin can be credited to Jesus’ account. Jesus died for every sin that had been or ever will be committed when he shed his blood on the cross. The only thing we have to do is give him the credit.

Ask God

“And it came to pass after this, that David inquired of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up” (2 Samuel 2:1). I think there are two reasons why Christians don’t ask God what they should do: 1) they are afraid God won’t answer them, and 2) they won’t like the answer if they get one.

It is only the Christian that intends to obey that usually asks God what to do. David did not ask God about everything. He didn’t need to. David knew the will of God for his life and only asked about things that might help or hinder him from doing what he already knew God wanted him to do. After Saul’s death, David knew it was time for him to be king, but he didn’t know if the people were ready to follow him.

David did not want to get into a power struggle with Saul’s army. After he asked the LORD if he should go up to Judah, he asked the LORD, “Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron” (2 Samuel 2:1). Hebron was a city of refuge. It was originally allotted to Caleb because of his faithfulness in giving a good report after the first expedition to spy out the Promised Land while it was still occupied by Israel’s enemies. Hebron was home to the Anakim, giants that had dwelt in the land for hundreds of years. Caleb had defeated the Anakim and made it possible for the Israelites to live there safely. As a city of refuge, it was designated for the safety of anyone that was wrongly accused of a crime or someone that had committed manslaughter could avoid being killed by his victim’s avenger by living in a city of refuge until the death of the high priest.

While David was in Hebron, there was a war between Israel and Judah. Saul’s son Ish-bosheth became king of Israel and David was anointed king over the house of Judah. Abner, the captain of Saul’s army made Ish-bosheth king so that he could remain in control and continue pursuing David. But after Ish-bosheth turned against him, Abner went to David seeking an alliance. “Make league with me, and behold, my hand shall be with thee, to bring about all Israel unto thee” (2 Samuel 3:12).

One of the principles behind the cities of refuge was letting God handle the matter for you, to let him bring about justice in his time. In essence, when a person fled to a city of refuge, he was declaring God to be his refuge or protector and sought safety rather than conflict in times of trouble. Many of David’s psalms declared the LORD to be his refuge. God’s answer to go unto Hebron was his way of saying he was going to take care of David, that he would handle the matter.

David’s final words regarding the power struggle that took place after Saul’s death are recorded in 2 Samuel 3:39. “And I am this day weak, though anointed king; ad these men of Zeruiah be too hard for me: the LORD shall reward the doer of evil according to his wickedness.”

How are the mighty fallen!

After king Saul was killed in battle, David sang a dirge to commemorate the powerful warrior that had sought to kill him. Three times in his song David chants, “How are the mighty fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19, 25, 27). He is not asking a question, but stating the fact that a proven warrior has gone down in battle. As we commemorate our veterans who have given their lives for their country, so David wanted to bring honor to the first king of Israel.

Although Saul’s life had ended in tragedy, David wanted people to remember that much good had been accomplished during king Saul’s reign. In his song, David also acknowledged the death of Saul’s son Jonathon. There was no better way for David to express his sadness over the loss of his good friend Jonathon than with these words:

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathon: Very pleasant hast thou been unto me: Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! (2 Samuel 1:26-27)

David and Jonathon were more than companions. I think the best way to describe their relationship would be kindred spirits. When David referred to Jonathon as his brother, he was not speaking of their relationship in a legal sense, but a spiritual sense. You could say David and Jonathon were brothers in the Lord, they shared a common faith much as Believers today do. Their love for each other was supernatural or what is referred to as agape lover, the kind of love God has for his children.

The loss of Jonathon made David’s transition to being king a bitter sweet experience. Jonathon imagined himself by David’s side as he ruled over Israel, but in actuality, all of Saul’s sons were killed except one who escaped and later became crippled. Saul’s disobedience affected the lives of everyone around him and when he died, his legacy went with him. It was truly a very sad ending to what was once a wonderful life.