048 King David & God’s Promise
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart; who shall fulfil all my will’ Acts 13:22
Key Verse:
‘And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever’ (2 Samuel 7:16)
(1 Samuel 18 – 2 Samuel 7)
In this lesson we continue in the story of the prophet David. Two lessons ago, we saw how God chose young David to be the second king of Israel, though he did not begin to reign the day God appointed him. God rejected Saul, the first king, because he was unconcerned about doing the will of God. However, God said about, “
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart; who shall fulfil all my will.” (Acts 13:22)
In our last lesson, we saw David kill the giant, Goliath, defeating him with a sling, a stone and
a solid faith in the living God.
Now let us continue the story of David and see how David replaced Saul as the king of Israel.
Continuing in the first book of Samuel, the Scripture says: (1 Sam. 18:6-9) “And it came to pass as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women spoke to one another as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands,
and David his ten thousands.
And Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, They ascribe unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thousands; and what can he have more, but the kingdom? And Saul watched David, from that day and onward”.
Thus, the Scriptures relate how the Israelites dearly loved David. But the more they loved David, the more Saul hated him.
Jealousy filled Saul’s heart
and controlled him so that all he could think of was what he must do to get rid of David. So, David fled and hid in the desert, together with the four hundred men of Israel who accompanied him. Saul and his soldiers hunted for David and his men in the wilderness. Saul did everything in his power to catch David and kill him. However, he could not do so because the LORD was with David. But Saul did cause David a lot of distress. For eight long years, David and his men had to run from the anger of King Saul.
However, the jealousy and anger that Saul displayed toward David did not cause David to hate him.
Why didn’t David hate Saul,
the man who was trying to kill him? David could not hate Saul, because David walked with the God who causes His sun to rise on the righteous and the unrighteous. As the Scripture says: “Beloved, let us love one another; for
love is of God,
and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love … we love him, because he first loved us. If a man says, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:7,8,19,20)
We do not have time to read all that happened between Saul and David, but we do want to look at one story and observe
David’s humility and love.
Reading in the first book of Samuel, the Scripture says: (1 Sam. 24:1-20) “And it came to pass, when Saul was returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel,
and went to seek David
and his men upon the rocks of the wild goats. And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where was a cave, and Saul went in to cover his feet; and David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. And the men of David said unto him, Behold, the day of which the Lord said unto thee, Behold, I will deliver thine enemy into thine hand, that thou mayest do to him as it shall seem good unto thee. Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe stealthily. And it came to pass afterward, that
David’s heart smote him,
because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing
he is the anointed of the Lord.
So David restrained his servants with these words, and permitted them not to rise against Saul. But Saul rose up out of the cave, and went on his way. David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord, the king. And when Saul looked behind him, David stooped with his face to the earth, and bowed himself. And David said to Saul,
Why heareth thy men’s words,
saying, Behold, David seeketh thy harm? Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave; and some bade me kill thee, but mine eye spared thee, and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord;
for he is the Lord’s anointed.
Moreover my father, see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand; for in that I cut off the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know that and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it. The Lord judge between me and thee, and the Lord avenge me of thee; but mine hand shall not be upon thee. As saith the proverb of the ancients,
Wickedness proceedeth from the wicked;
but mine hand shall not be upon thee. After whom is the king of Israel come out? After whom dost thou pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! The Lord, therefore, be judge, and judge between me and thee, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of thine hand. And it came to pass, when David had ceased speaking these words unto Saul, that Saul said, Is this thy voice, my son, David? And Saul lifted up his voice, and wept. And he said to David,
Thou art more righteous than I;
for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. And thou hast showed this day how that thou hast dealt with me; forasmuch as when the Lord had delivered me into thine hand, thou killedst me not. For if a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away? Wherefore, the Lord reward thee with good for what thou hast done unto me this day. And now, behold, I know well that
thou shalt surely be king,
and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand”
After that, Saul returned home, but it wasn’t long before jealousy took hold of his heart again and he decided to go back into the wilderness and resume his hunt for David. Saul did this for eight years,
all because of jealousy!
Yet, every time, God rescued David from the hands of Saul. In the end, Saul reaped the evil he had sown. Listen to what is written in chapter thirty-one.
The Scripture says: (1 Samuel 31:1-4) “Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. And
the battle went heavily against Saul,
and the archers hit him; and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then said Saul unto his armour-bearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armour-bearer would not; for he was very much afraid. Therefore
Saul took a sword, and fell upon it”.
On that day, Saul and his three sons died. Thus, the descendants of Saul were completely exterminated, just as God had said they would be. In the chapters that follow, the Scriptures relate how God turned the kingdom of Israel over to David. David was a just king who loved righteousness and hated iniquity. David loved the LORD God with his whole heart. The Word of God and the glory of God occupied
first place in David’s thoughts.
Therefore, when David began to rule over Israel, the first thing that he wanted to do was to bring the Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) and the ark (chest) of the covenant to Jerusalem. Jerusalem had become the capital of Israel, which is why David wanted to set up the tent of worship and the altar of sacrifice there.
After David had moved the tent of worship to Jerusalem, the Scriptures relate how he planned to build a beautiful temple to honour the name of the LORD.
David wanted to build a temple
in which the ark of the covenant could be placed and where sinners could present to God sacrifices which cover sin. However, the LORD told David that he was not the one to build a house for God, but that God would build for him a house, that is,
a family which would endure forever!
Listen to the covenant God made with David. He said to him: (2 Sam. 7:12-14,16) “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers,
I will set up thy seed after thee,
which shall proceed out of thine own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men … and thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever”.
Do you understand the covenant God established with King David on that day? It was a tremendous promise that surpasses human comprehension! God promised David, “thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee; thy throne shall be established forever!”
What?! How would David’s kingdom endure forever? How could this be? How could David, who was only a man, have a government that would last forever? Here is the answer: God promised David that
one of his descendants
would establish an everlasting government. A Man would be born in David’s royal family line who would receive the authority to reign in heaven and on earth forever. He would be called the King of kings, the Lord of lords,
the Prince of Peace.
Hundreds of years after David’s time, and about seven hundred years before this King of kings was born, the prophet Isaiah penned these words: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with justice and with righteousness from henceforth even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 9:6,7)
Do you know who, among the descendants of David, has been given the authority to establish an eternal government? Do you know who will judge the children of Adam on the Day of Judgement and reign throughout eternity? Yes, it is
the Redeemer, the King from heaven,
who was born of a virgin, a virgin who belonged to the descendants of David. Concerning this King, the Scripture says: “God also hath highly exalted Him, and given him a name which is above every name!” (Phil. 2:9)
When David understood God’s plan to send the Redeemer through his family line, he kneeled and worshiped the Lord saying, (2 Sam. 7:18,19,22,28,29) “Who am I, Lord God? And
what is my house,
that thou hast brought me thus far? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God? … Wherefore, thou art great, O Lord God; for there is none like thee,
neither is there any God beside thee,
according to all that we have heard with our ears … And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words are true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant; therefore, now, let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee; for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever”
That is how David thanked the LORD for His promise concerning
the King
who would come forth through his descendants. You who know the Holy Scriptures know that God has already fulfilled part of this promise. For in the Gospel we read that, a thousand years after David’s time, God sent an angel to some shepherds who were tending their flocks in the same hills of Bethlehem where David had tended his father’s flock. The angel of the LORD said to the shepherds, “I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:10,11) Yes,
the King
God promised to bring forth through David’s family has been born. Presently, He is back in heaven, awaiting that terrible and glorious day when He will return to judge the world in righteousness. In that day, everyone will know that the promise God made to David concerning his
eternal kingdom
is true. In that day it will be said,
“The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever!” (Rev. 11:15)
In the next lesson, in the will of God, we will continue the story of King David and hear about an event that will make your ears tingle.
God bless you. We leave you with this verse from the Holy Scriptures:
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! … for of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory forever” (Rom. 11:33,36)
We would invite you to answer the questions attached and send them together with any questions that you might have