David

• Personal Information
• • Meaning of name
  • • May mean "beloved one" which would fit well with his status as a "man after God's own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14) with whom God made an eternal covenant
    • Some have seen the name as a title
  • Family background
  • • The youngest of eight (or seven - 1 Chron. 2:13-15) sons (1 Sam. 16:11, 17:12) and two daughters of Jesse (1 Chron. 2:16)
    • A member of the tribe of Judah
    • His ancestry also included non-Israelites - Tamar from Canaan and Ruth from Moab
  • When Samuel met him he was described as being ruddy and handsome with beautiful eyes (1 Sam. 16:12) - some have taken ruddy to mean he was red-haired and fair-complected but the term may simply mean that he was young
  • Was a shepherd who was also skilled at the lyre
• His Rise to Kingship
• • Samuel anointed David as king (1 Sam. 16:1-13) - after David was anointed, God removed His spirit from Saul and sent an evil spirit to torment him (1 Sam. 16:14) - the spiritual transfer of power and presence prefigured the later transference of royal power
  • David entered Saul's service as a musician who was able to sooth Saul when the evil spirit afflicted him (1 Sam. 16:14-23)
  • David and Goliath (1 Sam. 17:1-58)
  • • The Israelites and Philistines faced each other on the battlefield in the Valley of Elah - Goliath, the Philistine champion, challenged the Israelites to send a champion to face him - the army of the winner would win the victory - Saul was probably the natural choice to fight Goliath since he was tall (1 Sam. 9:2)
    • David could not manage Saul's armor and faced Goliath with a sling and five smooth stones - in the biblical period the sling was a deadly weapon (cf. Judg. 20:16)
    • David killed Goliath and the Israelite forces pursued and destroyed the fleeing Philistine forces rather than allowing them to return home defeated since their champion had lost the battle
  • Conflict between David and Saul
  • • Causes
    • • Saul knew he had been rejected as king (1 Sam. 13:14) - he was certainly jealous of David, his abilities, and increasing popularity - perhaps Saul feared an assassination plot
      • David's popularity increased as his military victories increased - David became the celebrated hero of Israel (1 Sam. 18:7)
      • Even Saul's children, Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:1,3) and Michal (1 Sam. 18:20) loved David - Jonathan made a covenant with David and Michal married David - the defection of Saul's own family to David dashed any hopes Saul had of continuing his dynasty
    • Result - Saul saw David as a threat and sought to kill him (1 Sam. 18:10-11, 19:8-10) - David eventually had to flee from Saul
    • Two bright spots
    • • David's friendship with Saul's son Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:3, 19:1-20:42) - some have tried to see a homosexual relationship in the statement that "Jonathan loved him as his own soul" (1 Sam. 18:1) but that seems highly unlikely - Jonathan and Michal both helped David escape their father's wrath
      • David twice had the opportunity to kill Saul but refused (1 Sam. 24:1-22, 26:1-25) - he would not kill the one whom God had anointed - even though he had been anointed himself, David did not believe he was "God's instrument" to seize the kingdom - he waited for God to give him the kingdom in His good time
  • David became the leader of a marauding band fooling the Philistines into thinking he was in league with them
  • • David demonstrated his political acumen in convincing the Philistines he was working with them while all the while he was attacking and defeating Judah's enemies (1 Sam. 27:1-12, 29:1-30:31)
    • David assembled a substantial army composed of people loyal to him (1 Sam. 22:1-2, 30:9-10) - his army consisted of professional soldiers and not men called up in a draft - Saul never possessed such an intensely loyal fighting force
• David's Early Years as King
• • Served as king ca. 1010-970 B.C.E.
  • After Saul's death, Judah anointed David as king but Saul's son Ishbosheth ("man of shame" - also called Ishbaal "man of Ba`al") became king of Israel (2 Sam. 2:4,8-9) - this was Israel's first experience in passing down kingship - would the kingship go to a son (as would happen later in the southern kingdom of Judah) or to the most charismatic leader (as would happen later in the northern kingdom of Israel)?
  • David mourned the death of Saul (2 Sam. 1:19-27) and killed those who had claimed to kill Saul (2 Sam. 1:14-16) - this cemented David's respect for Saul in the eyes of the people
  • When Abner, Saul's commander, was killed, David mourned his death as well (2 Sam. 3:31-39) as he did when Ishbosheth was killed (2 Sam. 4:1-12) - David continued to respect Saul and win the admiration of Israel by mourning these and avenging their deaths
  • Two years after Saul's death, David was anointed king over all Israel (2 Sam. 5:1-5)
  • Capture of Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:6-10)
  • • A stroke of genius - Saul had not really had a capital - David and his personal army conquered Jerusalem from the Canaanites
    • Advantages of Jerusalem as capital
    • • Centrally located between Judah and the great northern tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh)
      • Had not been conquered by any tribe so when David took it no tribe felt it had been robbed of a possession
      • Located in the area of Benjamin, Saul's tribe, so provided a strong link to Saul furthering David's respect for Saul
      • Was a well-established city with walls providing an immediately secure capital
  • Religious actions
  • • Brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem - his enthusiastic dancing while wearing little or no clothing embarrassed Michal and she became barren as punishment for her harsh words to David (2 Sam. 6:1-23)
    • David sought to build a Temple suitable to contain the Ark and honor God but God would not let him (2 Sam. 7:1-17)
    • God did make an everlasting covenant with David stating that one from David's line would always sit upon the throne (2 Sam. 8-29) - God also told David that his son would build the Temple
  • David completed the conquest of Canaan - his kingdom went west to the Mediterranean Sea, south to the north Sinai desert, east well into the Transjordan, and north almost to the Euphrates River
• David's Failures
• • Family conflict
  • • David and Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11:1-12:25)
    • • For some reason David did not go out to lead his troops in battle - while in Jerusalem he saw and lusted after Bathsheba
      • He had sexual relations with her and she became pregnant
      • David sought to cover up his sin by bringing Bathsheba's husband Uriah back from the front lines - David believed Uriah would have sexual relations with his wife and then believe the child to be his when it was born
      • Uriah refused to enjoy the company of his wife when his men could not enjoy being with their wives and while Israel was still threatened - Uriah was more dedicated to the fight than David
      • After two unsuccessful attempts to have Uriah sleep with Bathsheba, David condemned him to death by writing an order to Joab, his general, to put Uriah in the thick of the fighting and then pull back and let him die - Uriah carried the message, his own death warrant, to Joab
      • Uriah was killed - David who was initially concerned by the heavy loss of life was satisfied when he learned that Uriah had died - David then married Bathsheba after a time of mourning
      • Nathan, the prophet, presented a false judicial case for David to decide - his decision condemned him
      • David and Bathsheba's first son died - they had two more sons, Solomon and Jedidiah, and Solomon became the next king
    • Rape in the family (2 Sam. 13:1-14:33)
    • • Amnon, one of David's 19 named sons, fell in love with his step-sister Tamar, David's daughter by another wife
      • Amnon raped Tamar and then cast her aside
      • Tamar's real brother Absalom killed Amnon for his crime since David refused to do anything
      • Absalom was forced to flee from David but was eventually brought back and reconciled somewhat to David through Joab
    • Rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. 15:1-18:33)
    • • Absalom began to plan to seize the kingship from his father
      • When the time was right, Absalom and his forces drove David from Jerusalem
      • Ahithophel, a trusted advisor, told Absalom to sleep with his father's concubines in a tent upon the palace roof - this would emphasize Absalom's claim to all belonging to David and strengthen the resolve of those who were with Absalom - Absalom obeyed, not reluctantly
      • God caused Absalom to accept bad advice which destroyed him - Ahithophel told Absalom to immediately send his army out to destroy David while Hushai advised waiting until a more massive army could be assembled - Absalom followed Hushai's advice which gave David time to regroup - throughout the account God worked through people to reestablish David on the throne
      • When Absalom's army met David's, it was destroyed and Joab killed Absalom
      • David mourned for his son, although one cannot help thinking David could have done several things earlier to ensure that such a situation would never have developed
  • Joab often served as David's hatchet man, doing David's dirty work - Joab was intensely loyal and acted always in what he believed was David's best interest - Joab had brought Absalom back to David earlier and had argued against counting the Israelites and thus showing more faith in troop strength than in God (2 Sam. 24:1-25) - Joab was a person of faith too
• David's End (1 Kings 1:1-2:11)
• • David was a pitiful figure in his last years - never able to get warm his servants placed a beautiful, young virgin named Abishag in bed with him - David, who had 8 named wives and many other wives and concubines, would not have sexual relations with her
  • When Adonijah sought to become the next king, David engineered (with the help and prodding of Nathan and Bathsheba) Solomon's appointment as king
  • David later counseled Solomon regarding how to secure his kingship
• David's legacy
• • A great military fighter and leader - he completed the conquest of Canaan
  • A great political figure who united the tribes into one nation and established a dynasty that survived for centuries
  • A great administrator who created military, civil, and religious bureaucracies
  • Very talented poet and musician
  • Sensitivity to God and religious matters - despite his failings David was willing to admit his mistakes and repent - perhaps this most effectively defines "a man after God's own heart"
  • Became the model king whose life and accomplishments pointed ahead to an ideal king, anointed one (messiah), who would someday come

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