Would You Be A David?

by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture:  2nd Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
5:1  Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh.
5:2  For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel."
5:3  So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
5:4  David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.
5:5  At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
5:9  David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inward.
5:10  And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

          We come now to the David who has graciously lamented the deaths of King Saul, who on several occasions attempted to murder David, and Saul's son Jonathan, a dear childhood friend of David's, even as now David appears before his people as the natural heir to the crown.

          If you have read this very interesting saga of the Old Testament, you know the entire story is much more complicated than that, but let us proceed with David from this point.  For as the youngest of a family of shepherd sons, David has trusted God to lead him through a whole series of adventures to bring him to this point, now at the age of 30. 

          David would rule Israel for another 40 years, enduring a serious misstep, a sin against the very God he loved, a sin that cost the life of one of his military leaders, for which he paid a high price.

          And yet, scripture tells us that David was a man after God's own heart.  Even so, he was flesh and blood and heir to all the temptations as you and I.  Perhaps given the power at his command over 40 years, perhaps it is a wonder the compromising of Bathsheba and the murder of her husband were the only sins history ascribes to him.  For we know well, by experience during our own lifetime that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

          Still, we expect that our leaders, even one coming from a shepherd's background, will understand the precepts of leadership and be that shepherd to the people.  We need God-focused leaders who will love their people.

          Coming from the unsophisticated background that David did, it would be understandable if he had launched into building his own fortune, providing for his own future, indulging his own tastes and desires in the way only a monarch could.  After all, at no time do the writings about David present him as some angelic being above the temptation of sin.  On the contrary, he is flesh and bone, he knows hunger, danger, and the love of God.

          And yet God saw in David a King.  Just as God has a vision of your potential and my potential, He saw that in this skinny shepherd boy.  David trusted in God and relied on God, so that God was able to actualize that potential in him, through the growth of discipleship and the process of David maturing in faith.  When we trust in God to overcome, great things will happen through us.

          For David his entire life was leading to this moment we see in today's scripture. 

The tribes of Israel came to David pointed out to him that it was he who had been leading them all along. It was not an easy journey for David from the moment of his selection by Samuel to this prelude to his coronation.  There were many hard moments, moments that could have gone awry had David not trust in God, relied upon God to be God to him.  Led of God he was able to overcome strongholds in the land, even taking over Jerusalem because it would unite the tribes.

          Perhaps as we look at how God moved in David's life, we can see strongholds in our own lives that need to come down so God can move in unity.  Strongholds are those things about us which we build walls around so as to withstand assault, with the ability to hold anyone or anything within those walls.  In some case we keep others out.  In some cases we keep others in.

          We have probably seen instances in our own lives where, when we hold on to something too tightly, God, in His love for us, will open our hands and take it from us.  Holding on to ideas, items or people too tightly puts them between us and God.  They become an idol and take His place in our hearts and in our lives.

          In David's case, he allowed his desires to get between him and God.  In such cases, out of love for us, God will act.  Did David not know that God would act?  It may be that, lost in his momentary desires, David lost his focus, putting God on the shelf.  But God will not be put on the shelf.  He will see his plans through.

          Did David know that God was working through a plan for his life?  We don't know.  But we have what King David did not have, the whole of scripture that tells us God does indeed have a plan for our lives.  We are building to a blueprint, so the question is, whose directions are you following?

          It is in Acts 13:22 that we find Paul opening his preaching to those in Antioch, pointing out that God said David, son of Jesse, was a man after God's own heart.  Have you ever wondered what that really means?  Perhaps King David's own Psalm 16, verse 2, will help explain.  There David writes, "I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing."

          With all his power and all his royal wealth and influence, David recognized that outside of God, there was no good thing.  The only good in him, at all, was God in him.  King David is the ultimate example of the need for Godly leaders to be willing to step aside from their need to build their own egos, empower their own self-confidence, and humble themselves before Almighty God.

          Those who knew President Theodore Roosevelt, and his strong manly leadership in the military and out, say that "Teddy" Roosevelt was in the habit over standing outdoors at night, gazing up at the vast universe about him to remind himself of his own humanity, of his place in God's grand universe.  Humility remains an important principle of leadership for everyone.

          Would you be "a person after God's own heart"?  Would you be a David?

          Start with a humility that turns all power, all of your life, all of your tomorrow's over to God through a relationship with His son, Jesus Christ.  If it is true that God is working from a blueprint for your life, and it is, unity with Him in everyday living would be the best way to smooth out the rough spots in our life, ensure we are headed in the right direction, His direction. 

          David was not perfect, but his heart was headed in God's direction, as ours should be.

          According to scripture, David loved the word of God (Psalm 119:97), and he loved to pray (Psalm 116:1-2).  David loved to praise God (Psalm 119:164), he loved unity among the brethren Psalm 133:1), and he hated every false way (Psalm 119:104).  But if we would be a David, we still need one thing more.

          David had learned first-hand, from Samuel, that God desired obedience over sacrifice (1st Samuel 15:22).  In fact, Jesus instructs us in John 14:15, that if we really do love Him, we will do the things He says. 

          From he who was a man after God's own heart, to the son of God who loved us first, the message is clear: obey.  Would we be a David?  Learn to obey.  Amen.

         

         

Week of Worship

July 8, 2012

Invocation:  Almighty God, in this hour, grant us grace that amidst the changes, miseries, or even pleasures of life, we may keep our minds fixed upon You and improve in grace every day till we are received into Your kingdom of eternal happiness.  Amen.

Read: Psalm 35 

Daily Scripture Readings

Monday                Matthew 10:1-15

Tuesday               Romans 1:1-7

Wednesday          John 1:6-13
Thursday              Colossians 1:9-23

Friday                   Colossians 1:24-29

Saturday               1st Peter 1:1-9

Sunday                 2nd Samuel 7:1-17; 2nd Corinthians 12:1-10; Psalm 89:20-37;

                             Mark 6:1-6 

Reflection: (silent and written)

Prayers for the church, for others, for yourself.

Hymn: "Hope of the World"

Benediction:  And now, O Lord, assist me to be diligent in labor and wise in my dealings, that I may one day hear the glorious, "Well done, faithful servant; enter into the joy of your Lord."  Amen.