From the Life Application Study Bible Notes on David
“But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.” Acts13:22
David was a shepherd, poet, giant-killer (remember David & Goliath), king, and ancestor of Jesus-in short, one of the greatest men in the Old Testament. But alongside that list stands another; betrayer, liar, adulterer, murderer. The first list gives qualities we all might like to have; the second, qualities that might be true of any one of us. The Bible makes no effort to hide David’s failures. Yet he is remembered and respected for his heart for God. Knowing how much more we share in David’s failures than in his greatness, we should be curious to find our what made God refer to David as “a man after my own heart.” (Acts13:22) David, more than anything else, had an unchangeable belief in the faithful and forgiving nature of God. He was a man who lived with great zest. He sinned, but he was quick to confess his sins. His confessions were from the heart, and his repentance was genuine. David never took God’s forgiveness lightly or his blessing for granted. In return, God never held back from David either his forgiveness or the consequences of his actions. David experienced the joy of forgiveness even when he had to suffer the consequences of his sins.
We tend to get these two reversed. Too often we would rather avoid the consequences than experience forgiveness. Another big difference between us and David is that while he sinned greatly, he did not sin repeatedly. He learned from his mistakes because he accepted the suffering they brought. Often we don’t seem to learn from our mistakes or the consequences that result from those mistakes. What changes would it take for God to find this of obedience in you?
Check Out: His life and story can be found in I Samuel 16 – Kings 2.
Good Call: “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and prayed, “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” II Samuel 7:18-19
Challenge: Take some extra time today and began studying the life of David, you’ll love it!
