Yes, I meant what I made the title to be. I don’t want to just talk about David because the Word is alive and we are given history shared in order to learn from and also to see ourselves in and through. All is on purpose and as we go into the Word more you see more and more of yourself and more and more of your transformation back into the image you were made to be.
Most people have heard of King David and now that there are move videos and shows out it is even more easy to connect with the earthly king that was a true man after God’s heart. Here are somethings that have been brought to my attention in the Word in regards to this man and how we can learn from and allow God’s Holy Spirit work with us.
David might have been placed in charge of the sheep and considered less than his brothers but God saw that even as he was placed there he loved – loved God and loved God’s animals. David accepted his role with love and when he was called in front of his dad and brothers with Samuel, he didn’t boast, he simply accepted and then went back to the tasks given to him. David maintained loyalty to the tasks that he was given and told to maintain and he did so as if serving the Lord. I think he probably would have been content as a shepherd his whole life but God saw that his heart was needed and called him into greater roles.
As he followed his duty to bring food to his brothers in battle, he didn’t grumble or complain, he simply loaded up and took care of things. I imagine that he probably had a sense that he was not totally seen well by his dad and brothers – evident in the fact that the Jesse didn’t think it worth bringing him in and the jeers that his brothers gave him upon him coming to help. David didn’t realize at the time that he was being sent to the battlefield for more than just his brothers errand runner but then took the opportunity to step up to the giant and without any kind of worry took the giant down because he knew who his God was and that he has been trained for such times like this in tending to God’s sheep. David rose to the occasion every time he was placed, went when he was told he needed to and held our God as the focus and ultimate for all.
This and a few other events brought David closer to the kingdom and every time he was given a task he did so in honor of and for the Lord. David was humble and even when he was asked to do something he did more than was expected, not to receive more but because he truly saw that he was a servant of and for the Lord and that it was God working through him. And when he was being gifted a wife by the current king he humbled himself knowing his position in the ranks of society at the time, not taking advantage of the gift nor just accepting – he only accepted by giving a gift in return.
While David was in the wilderness and being sought after he was that he was still a care taker and shepherd – he made sure that other shepherds in the fields and their sheep were looked after and not a single item missing. I believe that through his shepherding he was able to enhance the gift of discernment in managing and knowing people; animals are a good judge of character and not many are able to understand the nuances of animals unless you spend extensive time with them. When you can know how animals respond with even a twitch of an ear you can see things more clearly within behaviors of people and David showed this many times in the ways he understood people and when he knew that someone else was behind the agenda.
One thing that I found really necessary for us to look at is how he held respect for God’s anointed even though he was being hunted. Not only did he spare the man’s life but he mourned and held great esteem for them when their life did end. David didn’t go and run to fill the throne but went through a series of mourning, redemption of the one that took the life and then even went through further battles. He spoke highly of someone who hunted him and really didn’t have much to be honored but David chose to honor him because he saw that he was God’s and that it was not his place to disgrace anyone and especially someone that God called.
David was a great man…. and the enemy still influenced him and allowed a seed of sin to come into fruition of evil – he was not immune to being manipulated and led into temptation. However! He did not allow his status to keep him from repentance and prostrating himself before the Lord and he accepted the discipline that was delivered knowing that God is Almighty who knows all and what is best. Once his sins were addressed and he repented he changed and never made that same sin again – he knew the cost and didn’t take God lightly.
Most importantly… David knew the importance of sacrifice for the Lord. Not just in the ways that they sacrificed back then but sacrificed comforts, money and even his own reputation. David would not allow someone to consider him greater than the Lord in giving him something in order to worship the Lord but responded with, “I will not offer burnt offerings to Adonai my God that cost me nothing.” He slept in caves and endured a lot in his life but he knew whose he was and would draw his strength from the Lord before continuing, consulted the Lord before taking steps and honored the Lord regularly, even in giving a drink of water that he needed to the Lord because he knew that God provides and that the men that got the water risked their lives in order to get him – just a man, a drink of water.
There is a lot to read on David but I think the most worthy message to plant into our hearts is to set our hearts on the One that makes it beat. Love the Lord God with all your heart and all these other things just kind of happen. Know whose your are and by whose image and let that very real greatness move you. Keep Adonai in the middle of all things and let His glory come through. See people as God’s and always honor them as more than yourself. Ultimately this all is summed up and seen on repeat in the law and the prophets – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might and love your neighbors as yourself.
Do you realize that you are part of God’s awesome story? It didn’t stop with the Bible and not all was included but we are part of something far greater than we will know until He shows us. Hallelujah! So, yes, let’s talk David and also… you.
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