David was not a perfect man. None of God’s “men” were. God describes His servants honestly. We see their faults and their faith. God recognizes special things about those who serve Him faithfully. Abraham was God’s “friend” (2 Chron. 20:7). Moses, was God’s “servant” (Josh. 1:1). Job was “blameless and upright” (Job 1:1,8; 2:3). God said great things about David, as did others. Here’s a list of several descriptions of David, including those who made the statement.
·
13:14: Samuel: “a man after His (God’s) own
heart.”
·
15:28: Samuel: a neighbor … who is better than
you (Saul).
·
16:1: God: a King “provided” by God.
·
16:12: Samuel: “ruddy with bright eyes and
good-looking.”
·
Here are 4 descriptions related to the killing
of the giant:
o
17:12: Samuel: the son of the Ephrathite of
Bethlehem.
o
17:28: Eliab (David’s brother): “I know your pride
and insolence of heart.”
o
17:33: Saul: “just a youth.”
o
17:42: Goliath: “only a youth, ruddy and
good-looking.”
·
18:14: Samuel: behaved wisely, and the LORD was
with him (v12)
·
22:14: The Priest Ahimelech, that David was
faithful to Saul.
·
24:11: David, when running from Saul: “I have
not sinned against you (Saul).”
·
25:28: Abigail’s description: “my lord (i.e.
David) fights the battles of the LORD, and evil is not found in you throughout
your days.”
·
2 Sam. 5:1-2: Leaders of Israel, when they made
David king, “when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out
and brought them in.”
·
2 Sam. 23:1: David’s own words, “David the son
of Jesse … the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet
psalmist of Israel.”
Again, David had his
faults, grievous sins. But some criticism
of David is unfair. For example, some
criticize him for fleeing to Gath, that it was an act of unbelief, not trusting
God to protect him. The Bible does not
make that accusation. What do we know
about Gath? It was a city of the
Philistines near Israel. Israelites had
lived there with the Philistines in the past (14:21). Prior to Saul the Israelites used the
blacksmiths there (13:19-21). There was a difference between Achish of Gath and
the other Philistine kings (22:1-7; 29:3-11), because of David’s lie about
attacking cities in Israel when he was actually helping Israel by attacking
others.
My point is that David’s decision to seek
refuge with Achish may have been his understanding of what God wanted. David fought the Philistines (23:1-13); he
was not “soft” on them. Some have
wondered what David would have done if the Philistines would have permitted him
to join them in fighting Saul (28:1-2).
The evidence of his life to that point is that he would have turned
against the Philistines. He never did
anything but fight for Israel and against the enemies of Israel.
Another criticism of David’s early career that
I hear has to do with the story of Abigail, when David is ready to kill Nabal
for not rewarding him and his men for their kindness (25:13,22). David is clearly wrong to do this, which
Abigail makes clear (25:26-31). To want
revenge is common among people. The
thing that stands out about David in this story is that he heeded your voice
and respected your person (25:35, speaking to Abigail). David was learning that vengeance lies with
God. It is unfair to say that this is a
common trait in David’s life. He did not
take vengeance on Saul who repeatedly sought to kill him. And when he found out that the people of Keilah
were going to give him up, after he saved them, he did not get angry or seek
revenge (23:10-13).
Bottom line is, that David was a man after God’s
heart. And he became the standard of
judgment for all the kings who followed him.
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