Chronicles: A Righteous Ruler
David’s Character
With our last post being on David and how he rose to power, we will be continuing our study of his life by looking further into Chronicles and Samuel. Of course, we are covering all of the history section of scripture and it would be impossible to look at this history without diving into the life of David. Since we just looked at how David rose to kingship under Saul, we will now look at what made David such a special and unique king. Whenever King David is brought up, one of the most famous titles we see given to David is ‘a man after God’s own heart.’ This title is very unique because no other person in scripture is described as such. In fact, David himself is only described in this fashion twice in all of the Bible! The first instance where we see this title applied to David is 1 Samuel 13:14 “But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” This righteousness that David possesses is also why in the beginning of 1 Chronicles 11, all of Israel is ecstatic to elect David as the new king over Saul. But what about this title shows us why David was such a righteous king? A man being after God’s own heart shows us two main points that can’t go unnoticed. First, it shows us that David pursued that which is pure, holy, and glorifying to God. And second, it shows us that David denied the desires of men and even himself in order to pursue the will of God over his own. With that being said, let’s see how he did just that.
Pursuit of Holiness
To start, we’re going to look at the first point here and see how David pursued holiness. In 2 Samuel when David officially becomes king over all of Israel, you can’t read too far until you see David inquiring of the Lord for all that he should do. The Philistines were still the main enemy of Israel at this time and David takes a much different approach to war than Saul ever did. Rather than trying to conquer everyone for personal gain, David goes to the Lord to even see how he should handle his personal enemies. 2 Samuel 5:19 says, “So David inquired of the LORD, saying, “Shall I go up against the Philistines? Will You hand them over to me?” And the LORD said to David, “Go up, for I will certainly hand the Philistines over to you.” This is the type of humility that separated David from the vast majority of kings who only rose to power for personal gain. In fact, do me a favor and turn in your Bible to the books of 1 & 2 Kings. You’ll find in multiple sections that there is a run-on list of kings who did what was evil according to the Lord, so they died and someone else rose up in their place. This practice goes back and forth, sometimes for generations before a king is ever found that does what is right in the sight of the Lord. So to be a king that not only does what is right in the eyes of the Lord but goes even further to pursue God’s own heart, that is a king that deserves to be set apart from all other kings in history should be given his respect for doing so. David was no ordinary king, he was a king who pursued righteousness for the glory of God.
A Repentant Heart
Furthermore, we must look at the other side of this coin. To be a man after God’s own heart, one must be willing to deny their own personal desires and the desires of the people they are leading for the desires of God. When discussing the greatness of David and his characteristics as king, Bible Study Tools mentions, “At this point, David had known immense success at everything he put his hand to, yet he never took the credit or considered himself worthy of greatness. He gave all the glory to God.” David giving all of the glory to God in every situation is what a righteous king does. In fact, a heart that is after God and not after man is one that shows immediate sorrow over sin and is filled with repentance to do what is right. David without a doubt is a man who needs no introduction to repentance and sorrow over sin. Probably the best examples of this are seen in the famous story of Bathsheba. When David sins by sleeping with Bathsheba and having her husband killed in battle, God sends Nathan the prophet to confront him of this abomination. Look at David’s response when Nathan tells David of what he has done. 2 Samuel 12:13 tells us, “Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has allowed your sin to pass; you shall not die.” Immediately, without hesitation, David admits the wrong that he has committed against Bathsheeba and the Lord. But is this all? Does he just sit there acknowledging what he has done and then move on? Not at all.
David’s heart and actions show just how repentant he was after this sin. One of the consequences of David’s sin was that the child that he conceived with Bathsheba would die. Look at how David handles this news. 2 Samuel 12:16-17 says, “David therefore pleaded with God for the child; and David fasted and went and lay all night on the ground. The elders of his household stood beside him in order to help him up from the ground, but he was unwilling and would not eat food with them.” No doubt this is a depressing passage and story to read, however, there is also no doubt that David’s heart was truly repentant. No matter how you look at David’s life, there is no question he strived to be righteous for the Lord and repent in times of wrong. The life of David is of course famous for multiple reasons, but if he’s famous for anything, it’s for being a man after God’s own heart, despite the sins he’s committed and the temptations of this world. I hope and pray that as you read about David, you wouldn’t just admire his character for how he led at this point in history, but you would strive to heart after God just like he did.
Sources
[1] Blue Letter Bible. (n.d.). Blue Letter Bible. https://www.blueletterbible.org/
[2] Campbell, M. (2023, May 19). 7 Reasons David Is Called a Man “after God’s Own Heart.” Bible Study Tools. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/7-reasons-david-is-called-a-man-after-gods-own-heart.html
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