David’s Humble Beginning

Introduction

Two weeks ago we discussed Jacob’s fight. We learned that we have some very amazing promises, and that they include a blessing. We don’t just get it “just because”, we must be willing to wrestle for it. We must want it so much that we are willing to come out of our encounter with God changed and limping; transformed by His touch, humbled by His presence. The first part of this process is to know what those blessings and promises are. Consider the forefathers of our nation had to know what their rights were to before they would be willing to mobilize an entire nation to fight for them. It is not any different with us today. But there is a disturbing parallel between the secular world and the church, and that is that we have forgotten what it is that is worth fighting for. In reality, this is one and the same thing. We have forgotten the promises of God and so therefore we have not been willing to fight for the promises that God lays out in the Bible nor have we been willing to fight for the rights that He has given us as American Citizens, and the result of each is a tragic surrendering of our promise, our blessings and our rights.

In addition to knowing what the blessing and promise is, we must set up memorials to remind us not only what He has done and is going to do, but to remind us that His word is true and that there are consequences for violating it. We must keep his word ever before our eyes.

Finally, we must be leery of the devil’s schemes, but not overly worried about them, after all, His biggest scheme resulted in the death, burial and resurrection that gives us the right to become sons of God.

Who Next?

Now, Moses is who comes next chronologically, but we’ve already done a thorough survey of his life. So we will skip the Judges (that’s a different series for a different time) and that brings us to David.

David is a great person to study because, after all, the Bible says that he was a man after God’s own heart. If ever there were this amazing ringing endorsement well there it is! David’s story doesn’t begin in Kings or Samuel where you might suppose it begins, it actually begins much sooner.

The Lineage

Ruth 4:13–22 NKJV

So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the Lord, who has not left you this day without a close relative; and may his name be famous in Israel! And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.” Then Naomi took the child and laid him on her bosom, and became a nurse to him. Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.” And they called his name Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David. Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.

We know that the book of Ruth speaks of an amazing story of love and redemption, but redemption really ran in the family as it were. Boaz’s dad was Salmon, but do you know who mother was?

Skeletons in the Closet

Matthew 1:5–6 NKJV

Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David the king. David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah.

OK, big deal. Who is Rahab?

Well it is a big deal and I’m glad you asked. So let’s just read the Bible story of Rahab.

Joshua 2:1–14 NKJV

Now Joshua the son of Nun sent out two men from Acacia Grove to spy secretly, saying, “Go, view the land, especially Jericho.” So they went, and came to the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there. And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, “Behold, men have come here tonight from the children of Israel to search out the country.” So the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to search out all the country.” Then the woman took the two men and hid them. So she said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from. And it happened as the gate was being shut, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went I do not know; pursue them quickly, for you may overtake them.” (But she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order on the roof.) Then the men pursued them by the road to the Jordan, to the fords. And as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate. Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, and said to the men: “I know that the Lord has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. Now therefore, I beg you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a true token, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death.” So the men answered her, “Our lives for yours, if none of you tell this business of ours. And it shall be, when the Lord has given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you.”

David's Great-great grandmother was known for two things:

She was known for helping the two spies of Isra'el escape by lying to and betraying her own people.

She was known for being a prostitute

Can you imagine that stigma? It would be really easy for any of Rahab’s children to feel ashamed and that lead to a break-down of the family , but it didn’t. Instead, it ended up a fortress of strength in the days to come.

So many times, we hear of psychologists and psychiatrists who sit down and analyze people and say, “well it’s because of your parents that you are this way or that”. We often describe our struggles in the light of our upbringing in life or even our family tree. person. They say "Se le subió lo Gonzalez, or lo Pradeau or whatever..."

What that means literally, The Gonzalez in him rose up, or the Pradeau or DeLong or whatever. That is to say that the nature inherent in his family roots rose up. A little like talking about how hot-headed the Irish are, or some other such silliness that people use to excuse bad behavior, and you know, that's just what it is.

David comes from a prostitute and so society tells us that by his nature he should be crass and immoral. He comes from a traitor and so everything he does should be self-serving and rebellious, but the son of this prostitute learned not to treat women with disdain, rather to honor him as we find in the life of Ruth and Boaz- so we have a beautiful story of redemption and love- much like the story of Jesus - our kinsman redeemer, and so far as David goes, we will learn that not only was he loyal, he understood the authority of God and submitted to it.

The first thing that we need to understand is that sin is genetic.

Romans 5:12–14 NKJV

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—(For until the law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.

While it’s true these things often define who we are, they are not insurmountable. Disloyalty and a sense of self-worthlessness should apparently then, be encoded into David’s DNA. But look at what else it says there – it says that death (remember death comes through sin) reigned from Adam to who? Moses! What’s significant about Moses? Well he was the one who brought the law. With the giving of the law, God not only defined what sin was, He brought a solution for it. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it was a solution nonetheless. So even though by the time David comes along, his DNA is encoded with the sinfulness of his ancestors, he is able to overcome it by the law of God.

In fact, scripture actually tells us that this is the very reason that the law was given.

Galatians 3:23–24 NKJV

But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

So the law that David is under, was a guard – it was a tutor, as it were, to teach him how to live righteously. What about you and I? Can we continue to use our heritage, our family roots as excuses for behaving the way we behave? Well according to Paul, if you are a Christian, you cannot.

Romans 5:18–19 NKJV

Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

And what about that tutor that guards us?

Galatians 3:25 NKJV

But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

If David was able to be a “man after God’s own heart” and he was merely “under a tutor,” how much more we now who have been brought to Christ? You will say to me, but Pastor, David committed adultery and even murder. Yes He did, but as we shall see on our journey through his life, He remained a man after God’s heart.

Let us look now at the actual telling of David’s rise to power. Because there is another excuse that we tend to make for not becoming all that we could.

1 Samuel 16:1–13 NKJV

Now the Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” But the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you.” So Samuel did what the Lord said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come peaceably?” And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good-looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.

David was the baby of the family and as we know, the most important in a family in those days was the first born male. As the youngest son, David got all the crap jobs and not much was expected of him. Don't use the expectations placed on you by your family or those around you as an excuse for your inability to achieve. That is entirely up to you.

We start each of our messages with the same thing, “I am who HE says I am.” Do you believe it? Stop believing you are something different, or that you are somehow less than what He says you are! We can actually see the family dynamic playing out here.

His own dad thought so little of him, that he didn't even bother presenting him to the prophet. And at first the prophet was willing to believe it, but look instead at verse 7.

1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

What did God see? We see exactly God’s opinion of David when Samuel announces to Saul that God has rejected him in favor of someone else!

1 Samuel 13:13–14 NKJV

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

But David was not yet that man, he would become that man after his encounter with the Prophet. In fact look at how David was regarded after his visit by the prophet:

1 Samuel 16:14–18 NKJV

But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.”

What’s particularly interesting here is that last sentence – and the Lord is with him. That makes all the difference in the world doesn’t it? In fact, while it was apparent to everyone else, who David was, his family still didn’t think very highly of him. We see this illustrated in this story. Jesse’s three oldest sons are off to war and he decides to send some supplies up to them. So he tells David, take these PBJs that your mom just made for the boys and come back and tell me the score, because the game is blacked-out here. This is where we pick up the story.

1 Samuel 17:20–29 NKJV

So David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, and took the things and went as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the camp as the army was going out to the fight and shouting for the battle. For Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle array, army against army. And David left his supplies in the hand of the supply keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers. Then as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines; and he spoke according to the same words. So David heard them. And all the men of Israel, when they saw the man, fled from him and were dreadfully afraid. So the men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who kills him the king will enrich with great riches, will give him his daughter, and give his father’s house exemption from taxes in Israel.” Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, “What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” And the people answered him in this manner, saying, “So shall it be done for the man who kills him.” Now Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger was aroused against David, and he said, “Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle.” And David said, “What have I done now? Is there not a cause?”

I can hear David now, “WHAT DID I DO NOW? WAAAH!” But you see, he was not deterred, and in fact as we read through the story what happens? He steps up and becomes who God said he was doesn’t he? In fact this was to become critical later in life when David’s life was turned upside down as he became an enemy of the state. God said one thing about him, but the king had a different opinion. While God said he was a man after God’s heart, the king saw him as a threat. David had to know who God said he was before he could possibly stand up to the threat of the king. He had to be sure that his position was one appointed by God. He had to be willing to defend himself and his loved ones and provide harbor for others who were being persecuted by the king as well. While David was not rebellious, he was a revolutionary! We have to be willing to be like David. We need to know who we are because our adversary the devil is out there trying to define us now. How far have we fallen, where we are called enemies of the people for standing for traditional marriage and where we are vilified for standing against abortion? How far have we fallen where evil is called good and good evil? The time is already upon us where we are to stand as revolutionaries. Like David, we must be willing to fight for what we believe in. We come from a line of godly men that founded this country by defining it according to God’s own heart and they were willing to put their fortunes and in fact, their very lives on the line – THAT is also in our DNA, but before you can do that, you need an encounter with God so that He can tell you who you are.

So saints I ask you this question: Who are you? Who does God say you are?

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 NKJV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

You ARE the righteousness of God – a new creature. You are not who you once were. ALL THINGS have become new. You are not subject to the genetic sinful nature of your parents, nor are you subject to your upbringing. As long as you have had an encounter with God, and as long as you have been anointed to be something different then you ARE who GOD SAYS you are! But here’s the key, look at the person sitting next to you. Who are THEY? What has God said about them? Then why hold them to the expectations of the past. It is time that we see them as God sees them – as HIS righteousness.

Conclusion

Saints, the world will tell you that a leopard cannot change his stripes, and while that is true one experience with the King of Kings can turn a leopard into a house cat with no stripes at all! Why? Because we are who God says we are. We must no longer be defined by the World’s standards, we must rely solely on God.

Benediction

Numbers 6:24–26 NKJV

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’