David, 1of6

~ David a Man of Contrasts ~

Overview  ~  David, a man of contrasts, is mentioned about a 1,000 times in the Bible. He was a shepherd boy and a manly king.  Perhaps David is most remembered for two things: first, his great failure with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) and second the Scripture’s description of him as being “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22).  We also find this sentiment in the book of 1 Kings, “But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Whereas it was in your heart to build a temple for My name, you did well that it was in your heart’” (1 Kings 8:18).  David was a man of great physical action and he also wrote a significant portion of the emotion filled Book of Psalms.  He was not only the “Sweet Singer of Israel” but the founder of a city and a house. 

David had many roles including adulterer, father, friend, fugitive, hero, king, killer, lover, murderer, musician, murderer, penitent, poet, politician, prophet, shepherd, sinner, underdog, warrior, and perhaps most importantly a “type” (or foreshadowing) of Jesus Christ. 

Positive  ~   David was strong and courageous in battle—perhaps best illustrated by his confrontation with Goliath.  He possessed great loyalty such as to Saul even when Saul was pursuing him.  For most of his life he possessed a focused loyalty to his God—he loved God deeply.

David throughout most of his life showed that he was a man of character with self-discipline and self-control.  An excellent example of this is his refusal to kill King Saul (God’s first anointed king) even though he had several good opportunities to solve this ongoing problem in his life. 

Negative  ~  David’s great sin of adultery with Bathsheba was multiplied by his sinful attempts to cover up her pregnancy—even to the point of arranging to have Uriah, her husband, killed.  He consciously and willfully disobeyed God such as when he took a census of the people against God’s direct command.  There is also evidence that as an absentee father he was often lax with regard to his disciplining duties as a father. 

~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW

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