Read: 1 Samuel 16:6-13; 2 Samuel 22:1-23:5; Psalm 40:1-10; Acts 13:22.
After Saul failed to worship God alone and attempted to control God’s mission, God chose a new king for Israel. This time it was someone after God’s own heart. In the Hebrew understanding, the heart was the seat of the will; therefore, God’s will was David’s will. David understood that God’s will was for all of creation to know and worship him (1 Chronicles 16:23-36). David served God and relied on the daily strength the Lord gave him, not his own. Recorded in the scriptures are descriptions of his righteousness, justice, faithfulness, obedience, and his conversations and intimacy with God (2 Samuel 22:21-25; Psalm 5:4-8; Ps 7:8; Ps 26; Ps 40:1-10). God’s choice in David was unlikely to the world: the youngest brother, an unrespected profession, and a family heritage including a prostitute, an adulteress, and an immigrant.
- God’s statement in Acts 13:22 comments first about who David was as a person, and second, his ability to perform and accomplish for God’s purpose. David’s ability to do and lead as a king resulted from his capacity to be. His identity was not subject to his performance; his performance was subject to and resulted from his character. What does this say about the importance of being in relationship to doing? If God were to make a statement about my character and identity, what would he say? How do I give God the opportunity to cleanse and prepare my heart for when God asks me to participate in his mission?
- In 2 Samuel 22:21-25, David gives a positive testimony about his actions, as in Psalm 26. Yet David was not perfect; two examples of his sins and God’s judgment are found in 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:20, and 1 Chronicles 21. When confronted with his sin, how did David respond? How did God respond to David?
- How does one rely on the Lord’s strength instead of on one’s own (1 Samuel 30:6; 2 Samuel 22:33)?