Israel’s greatest King David

Saul-David summary Saul wants to kill David Jealousy Saul’s children protected David Michal Loved David Protects David when Saul wanted to kill him. She helped him escape through a window in the middle of the night because Saul sent his men to kill David first thing the next morning Jonathan Saul’s son Became true friend of David Protected him from Saul Saul dies

After Saul’s death, David is anointed King over all Israel He was 30 yrs. old David was able to defeat the Philistines and unite the tribes

The Holy city: Jerusalem David made Jerusalem the capital city for the Israelites Was perfectly located between the two kingdoms that formed Israel In modern times, Jerusalem is a holy city for more than half of all religious believers in the world Jews, Christians, Muslims

The Ark in Jerusalem David decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem because it was a powerful symbol of God among the Israelites As David brings the Ark to the city, he joyfully dances before the Ark David’s dancing infuriated Michal who thought of David a fool for dancing David replied, if to give God praise he must look a fool, he will. Michal did not see or value David’s love for God

Because of David’s fidelity to God, God promised him that his line would endure forever This promise is the Davidic covenant Aka the messianic promise David’s line endured unbroken for 400 years then it dropped into obscurity Afterwards devout Jews remembered this promise and waited for the reappearance of a leader from his royal line to be Israel’s Messiah The Hebrew word Messiah means “the anointed” Referring to the anointing of a king The Gospel writers refer to Jesus using the Greek word for Messiah- Christos Meaning the anointed from which the name Christ comes The Davidic Covenant

David and Bathsheba As king, David is powerful, wealthy, and undefeated but not perfect Bathsheba David first met Bathsheba when he was walking on the roof of his house and sees her bathing nearby David is captivated by Bathsheba and inquires about her He is told that she is married to Uriah – a warrior at the battlefront David sends for her and has sexual relations with her getting her pregnant Nervous about the situation, David tries to cover up his adultery by asking Bathsheba’s husband to come back. However, the plan fails. Desperate to cover up his sin, David has Uriah killed. David broke two commandments: You shall not commit adultery and You shall not kill

A lesson and repentance Confronted by the Prophet Nathan, David is forced to accept the evil of what he has done. He is reminded that though he is a powerful king, he is subject to God and must follow the Law He repents and recognizes his sins The prophet Nathan assures him that God forgives him but there will be consequences. The son of David and Bathsheba, conceived in adultery, becomes sickly and dies. Later, Bathsheba conceives again and bears another son Named Jedidiah but in his adulthood called Solomon

Imperfect yet Chosen Why did such an account of his weakness and sin find its way into the Bible? To make it clear that David is not above God’s Law The message for us is that God works through limited and sinful persons To give hope to all of us Hope that God somehow brings about the divine purposes even through our flaws and weaknesses

David’s Legacy By the end of his reign, Israel is indeed a nation like other nations With a king and a capital David was a model of what the kings, and all Israelites, should be: DEVOTED TO GOD Above all else David trusted in God and tried to serve Him He also placed himself in God’s care When his enemies plotted against him When he sinned He threw himself on God’s mercy and did not despair David was not sinless, but he knew that God was the center of his life and his nation’s life A sign that Israel could be forgiven of its many failures and could go on to live faithfully, if only Israel would keep God at the center