The Life of David
Notes
Transcript
Introduction and Background
Introduction and Background
The beauty of studying the life of David
Know to be the greatest king
Yet preserved in scripture are some harsh truths about David
Scripture doesn’t aim to hide the truth but rather reveal it at all costs
We see the spectrum of human emotions in his life, making him relatable
strong and weak
courageous and discouraged
scared and fearless
confused and confident
fatigued but still renewed in spirit
suffers loss and great gain
While he is king, he is human.
His life circumstance are amplified because of his role as king yet the lessons are transcendent.
Brief Intro
David was the greatest king in the history of the Israelite
Reign for 40 years. 1010 to 970 BC
The greatness of his reign was acknowledge by other surrounding kingdoms in their historical records
Old Aramaic stela in Tell Dan 840 BC...”house of David”
Stela of Mesha King of Moab...’house of David’
Pharoah Shoshenq I records victories over Rehoboam and Jeroboam and references David…only 50 years after his reign
Philistines
A compilation of 5 cities along the southwester coastal strip of Canaan or Palestine…receiving the name Philistine
Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gaza, and Gath
All have their own rulers and functioned independently but at times came together.
The Fall of Saul: The sting of disobedience
The Fall of Saul: The sting of disobedience
First King of Israel
Anointed by Samuel the prophet
Good start but quick quick decline
1 Samuel 13 - Unlawful sacrifice
1 Samuel 13:13-14
13 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. 14 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.”
Saul’s Character
Fear of what others think
sets up for disobedience
1 Samuel 15 - Saul spares king Agag
Under the influence and pressure of his men, Saul spares king Agag of the Amalakites disobeying the command to utterly destroy them.
Samuel receives instructions to confront Saul
1 Samuel 15:22-23
22 So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king.”
The disillusion of disobedience
We are frequently fooled into thinking that disobedience will lead to gain. While there might be some immediate gain, there will never be any long-term benefit from disobedience
Samuel the prophet took the fall of Saul hard.
1 Samuel 15:34-35
34 Then Samuel went to Ramah, and Saul went up to his house at Gibeah of Saul. 35 And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the Lord regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.
Samuel Lead to David: The art of listening
Samuel Lead to David: The art of listening
The Lord picks Samuel up and sends him to anoint the next king
1 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.”
Samuel is concerned for his life because if Saul finds out he is going to anoint another king, he will kill him.
God gives him protection under by instructing him to offer a sacrifice.
Interestingly we see obedience in Samuel as compared to Saul
MEDITATION: we always wrestle with how much obedience live with, trying to justify our actions.
Scripture challenges us to raise the level of obedience by giving us a comparison.
Finally when Samuel is set up with Jesse and his sons we see a correlation between obedience and listening.
The desire for obedience prepares the heart to listen for instruction.
If we do not care to be obedient then why would we listen
REFLECTION POINT: in the areas of our life when we are rebellious towards God, how readily are you to hear words of correction?
In areas that you are striving for obedience, words of guidance are received well.
Samuel wrestles with his thought but still lends a listening ear to God, because of his desire to be obedient
6 So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” 7 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.”
Listening to God will always challenge the reality that we see and how we process it.
Samuel saw the oldest son Eliab and was convinced that he is the one. But a spirit of obedience and a desire to listen prevents Samuel from trusting his own logic.
Learning to be obedient and to listen to God enables us to go endure the pressures, confusion and awkwardness of the moment until clarity is received.
It was a high pressured moment to pass up 7 sons and still not know who was to be anointed and to come to the conclusion that if God had sent him to this house and he didn’t find the chosen one that there must be another son!
11 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.” 12 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!” 13 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.