Focus: We must endeavor to be people after God’s own heart - learning to fight the Lord’s battles as God is with us to point people to Christ.
In the Sheepfolds
In the Wake of Saul
In the Line of Christ
In the Sheepfolds
King David learned to love and serve God when he was hidden - we should too.
One of our highest aims should be to be people who are known by God as being after his own heart.
What does it mean to be after God’s own heart?
It means to be one who is concerned with the Lord’s affairs and is willing to do all that is necessary to please, love and obey him.
David would be described by God as one who would fulfill his commands and be about God’s business - ruling and caring for his people.
Saul was rejected because he failed to do this.
1 Samuel 13:14 ESV
“But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.””
Who was David?
Of the tribe of Judah, David would be the second king of Israel, the son of a shepherd named Jesse.
1 Samuel 16:1 ESV
“The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.””
Again, David was chosen as a man after God’s own heart.
How did David cultivate such a heart?
Through devoted times of meditation on the truths of God (which we find in Scripture), worship (song writing) and prayer, David likely sought God in the fields as he tended his fathers’s sheep.
Familiar Psalms regarding the vastness of God’s greatness seen in nature or David’s reflection on God’s care for his people as mirrored in a shepherd’s care for his sheep intimate this.
Each of the Psalms that follow were inspired of the Holy Spirit and penned by David:
Psalm 8:3-9 ESV
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Psalm 19:1-11 ESV
“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.”
Psalm 23:1-6 ESV
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
The important point to follow is that God says he would choose men and women not based on their outward appearance, but their heart towards him.
1 Samuel 16:6-7 ESV
“When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.””
So what was happening at this time and what was God’s business?
In this period, the Philistines continued to make war against God’s people Israel, and God was determined to have a defender rise up to challenge the oppressor.
It parallels our times in which God would raise up King Jesus to defeat sin, Satan and the demonic hordes of hell that look to continually torment the lives of the people that God loves.
Jesus would come as a champion, to give life to those who would receive him.
Jesus would later say:
John 10:10-11 ESV
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
David would be a prototype of the shepherd-king, in many ways foreshadowing, though imperfectly, the life of Christ.
Now the rise of David would come with his encounter with a Philistine giant named Goliath.
It would be an important shift in the story of Israel’s rulers as David, anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king and replace Saul, would step up to be the Israelite’s champion against Goliath, whereas Saul had not risen to that challenge.
Again, Saul was merely concerned with his own affairs, where David was consumed with God’s.
1 Samuel 17:32-37 ESV
“And David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” And David said, “The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.” And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!””
In the Wake of Saul
King David learned to trust God for public victories that came from the secret place - we should too.
1 Samuel 17:45-48 ESV
“Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.” When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.”
Why was David so confident in fighting Goliath?
It was because he understood that he was not simply fighting his own battle, but he was fighting the battle of the Lord and therefore had God’s backing and endorsement.
*This is the same confidence that we need to have as we are building lives, marriages, families, careers and ministries to the glory of God.
Whose battles are you fighting in this life?
Where is your trust in terms of who is fighting for you and why?
As King Saul fell from grace, he gave David the opportunity to build his life on the firm foundation of God’s affairs.
This is always the right order in which to build, even as Jesus would later instruct:
Matthew 6:31-34 ESV
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Though it looks different for different people, David would learn that there is reward in putting God first.
1 Samuel 18:17 ESV
“Then Saul said to David, “Here is my elder daughter Merab. I will give her to you for a wife. Only be valiant for me and fight the Lord’s battles.” For Saul thought, “Let not my hand be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him.””
Abigail, David’s future wife would remind him to stay locked in to the focus that brought blessing to his life and the people surrounding him.
1 Samuel 25:28 ESV
“Please forgive the trespass of your servant. For the Lord will certainly make my Lord a sure house, because my Lord is fighting the battles of the Lord, and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live.”
*In every endeavor, David not only involved himself in the Lord’s affairs, but lived his life in such a way to make sure that the Lord was pleased to be with him.
1 Samuel 18:14 ESV
“And David had success in all his undertakings, for the Lord was with him.”
What did it mean that God was with David?
*God being with us is different from us simply having knowledge about God.
*It implies God’s not only God’s presence, but his endorsement, blessing and favor.
This was so important that when Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt, he made this appeal to the Lord after God threatened to send them into the land, but not to go with the Israelites:
God would say after the incident with the golden calf:
Exodus 33:3 ESV
“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.””
Moses would reply:
Exodus 33:15-17 ESV
“And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.””
King David would undoubtedly have these lessons in mind.
Question:
Can you say that you live a life that God would be willing to endorse?
God gave King David victories in battle because the Lord was with David.
2 Samuel 5:10 ESV
“And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.”
Are we walking with God in such a way that we are representing God well and he would be happy to bless because he is with us?
Again, David’s walk with God would prepare the way for the covenant promise that God would make to David that would forever impact all of human history to follow:
2 Samuel 7:4-17 ESV
“But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.”
So again, in trying to understand all of the warfare of the Old Testament, we see that even in David fighting the Lord’s battles, it was also about him being a benevolent king reflecting the Heavenly Father who looks to care for and defend those he loves.
In the Line of Christ
King David’s entire life and ministry would point to Jesus - our’s should too.
The gospel of Matthew, written to a Jewish audience familiar with the law, prophets and promises of God, would establish Jesus’ legal right to the throne of King David via Joseph (through Solomon, King David’s son).
Matthew 1:1 ESV
“The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”
Luke would be written to a Gentile audience and trace the lineage of Christ all the way back to Adam (through the natural descent of King David’s son Nathan), emphasizing that Jesus would be the Savior of all of humanity.
Luke 3:23 ESV
“Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli,”
Luke 3:31-32 ESV
“the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,”
Luke 3:38 ESV
“the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.”
Why is it significant that Jesus is the Son of David?
Because Jesus would be the better king promised of God who would rescue his people by providing both freedom from and forgiveness for our sins.
Acts 13:21-41 ESV
“Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’ “Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, as also it is written in the second Psalm, “‘You are my Son, today I have begotten you.’ And as for the fact that he raised him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings of David.’ Therefore he says also in another psalm, “‘You will not let your Holy One see corruption.’ For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption, but he whom God raised up did not see corruption. Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest what is said in the Prophets should come about: “‘Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.’””
Because of Jesus’ sinless life, death on the cross in sacrifice for our wrongdoing and resurrection from the dead - we can have not only forgiveness of sins but eternal life in Jesus.
Jesus descended from David to forever rule on David’s throne.
He was the only one who had a perfect heart before the Father and blamelessly fulfilled all that the Father desired - even to the point of his death on the cross.
Hebrews 12:3-4 ESV
“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”
"There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him".
-C.S. Lewis
As we now turn from our self-centered living to God’s eternal affairs, we can have confidence that our benevolent shepherd-king will both free us from our oppressors and bring a better blessing than that which we would have sought to obtain for ourselves.
May we turn from our sins and put our trust in Jesus today.
May we be men and women after the Lord’s own heart and live to glorify him today as we follow God to make Jesus known, making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).