DAVID’S ACTIONS COMPARED TO OTHER KINGS Another question that be discussed is, “How does David’s actions as a future king compare to the actions of kings in other nations?” In 1 and 2 Samuel we see that the king of Israel is not all powerful. Both Saul and David are shown to be under the law of God. Saul does not do what God tells him to do and God makes it so that Saul’s son will not become king.14 David has sex with another man’s wife and then has that man murdered and God kills the child conceived out of David’s adultery.15We also see that the king of Israel is under the power of God as well as the power of the law. When Solomon builds places of worship to God’s other than YAHWEW and worships at them, God makes someone else king over ten of the twelve tribes of Israel. Solomon’s son only rules over the tribes of Benjamin and Judah.16 The king being under both the authority of God and the law was a rare occurrence among other nations. In Egypt the Pharaoh was viewed as a God and as such he was under no one else’s authority .16 The Egyptians believed that it was the Pharaoh who was responsible for the proper function of the Nile, the fertility of the crops, and he made sure the sun illuminated the earth. It was the Pharaoh’s job to protect the land and maintain order. If the land suffered the people believed it was because the Pharaoh was weak and was unable to maintain order. They believed that order would only be restored when a strong king takes the throne and restores order to the land.17 In Persia the king was under the law, but he was the person who made the law. This is seen in Ester 1 when king Ahasuerus banishes his own wife in a drunken rage and could not repel the law. Once the king set a law it could not be undon... ... middle of paper ... ...CLUSION The story of the shewbread shows the importance of making wise decisions. David came to the city of Nob seeking help from its inhabitants, and yet when they asked why he was there he lied to them. He told them he was on a mission for the king, when in reality he was running from the king. This caused the people of Nob to commit treason against the king by helping Saul’s enemies and because of David’s lie the people of Nob were executed for treason. In the New Testament Jesus even said that David’s actions were unlawful. While the king of another kingdom may have been able to justify the act by claiming that they were a king and above the law, David cannot make that claim. Unlike the pharaoh who was a God King or Darius who makes the law, David was under the authority of God. This means that David still had to obey Gods Law and be subservient to God’s will.
is a fight just to survive for the next day . As a child David is taught a very harsh way of
God creates laws for His children not because he wants to restrict us, but because he desires a relationship with us so that we may be able to draw nearer to Him. He also gives us laws to protect us from the harmful repercussions of sin. Therefore, if David had followed God’s laws, he would not have been faced with such turmoil towards the end of his kingship.
...passage but at the root of it all is David's humanity. Though David was anointed and a “man after God's own heart”, he made many mistakes. This passage shows that David was not perfectly in tune with God's voice at all times. David did something God clearly did not want him to do, and did not realize the consequences until after the sin had already been committed. However, even though David did sin, and his sin was punished, he had a heart of repentance when he realized what he had done and was willing to make things right at all costs. Theologically, the lesson that should be drawn from this is that it was not David's actions which made him great, but his heart to please God, and even greater, God's heart of mercy towards him. If it had not been for God's intervention, David would have been nothing more but another man.
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in their own sight” (Judg. 21:25). This quote at the end of Judges sets up an optimistic view of kings for the rest of the Deuteronomistic History. King David is considered perhaps the greatest king over all of Israel, whereas King Hezekiah is praised for never turning away from God and being the greatest king among all the kings of Judah (2 Kgs. 5). However, despite the high need for a praise of kings throughout the Deuteronomistic history, Solomon is viewed with a skeptical eye and is the cause of the demise of Israel. Unlike the positive view of kings portrayed throughout the Deuteronomistic history, King Solomon is framed in a negative light in 1 Kings 11: 1-13, which
...hard to understand fully because of its comprehensive metaphoric language and the difference in culture from present day. It is also sometimes hard for us to understand God's actions because we think of him simply loving and caring rather than ruthless and violent. We need to understand that the creation of mankind is taking place in the recordings of these scriptures and so things may not be as customary as we would like to think. I believe that God has a plan for everyone. And, in the case of Saul, he had a plan to take away his kingdom in order to pass it on to David so the formation of history could continue. I also think this passage, like many other passages from the Bible, has a message linked to it, a lesson to the story if you will. The lesson is to prove that God's unlimited power must never be taken for granted or there surely will be hell to pay.
Then one day when he was twenty, he suddenly felt that he had the wrath of God on him. He realized that his sin was not forgiven, he was just doing good works and religious things to make up the difference. Even though he realized this, he still thought that his good works would still account for his good. He prayed and prayed but could not get anywhere. He even set a time to fast, but still God did not seem to work. All the while God was softening David's heart, David was having a problem with self-confidence. He was confident that the works and the religious things which he did were going to help him.5
To fully understand the story of David and the shrewbread the reader needs to have a brief history of Israel and the events leading up to David coming to the holy place at Nob. In the book of Exodus the reader is shown how the nation of Israel is formed. The nation of Israel comes together as though own independent nation when the cast off their shackles of slavery and emerge from Egypt as a free people. This group of people had more in common than just being freed slaves. These people exiting Israel are all descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They are bounded together by their family bond.
David came to the Philistine in the name of the Lord of hosts. God allowed David to slay the giant because he was a faithful believer. “Then David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied” (KJV, 1 Samuel 17:45). David’s courage to face the giant as a youth was proof of his undeniable courage. David was resented by Saul and was constantly eluding Saul’s attempts to kill him. Saul had a great desire to eliminate his presence, but God protected David from any harm. For a long time David was kept in continual apprehension of falling by the hand of Saul, yet he persevered in meek and respectful behavior towards his persecutor (Henry, 2001). David remained faithful to God’s plan to make him King. One glance at David’s life can’t miss the glaring mistakes he made, but David never tried to blame others or make excuses for his sins (Fackler, 2006). David was patient to take the throne of Israel although he had to wait a very long time for Saul’s reign to be over. David remained courageous throughout Saul’s persecution. Many local churches can teach of how David’s courage and faithfulness to the Lord can generate blessings. The demonstration of expressing courage within our lives sets an important
In 1st Samuel, David seeks his God’s counsel regarding whether or not he should go to battle. “David inquired of The LORD, ‘Shall I go attack the Philistines?’ and The LORD said to David, ‘Go attack the Philistines and save Keilah.’” (23:2) In this example, David asks God a question, and the LORD replies with a definite yes, almost echoing David’s question in agreement. Through this verse, we can see God’s heart unfolding within David. David’s will aligns with the LORD’S will entirely, even when the people around him are in disagreement, as we see in verse three, when his men are fearful and do not wish to attack the Philistines (23:3). Instead of arguing with his military, he seeks the Lord’s voice again. God assures him that His plan will not fail, saying “Arise, go down to Keilah, for I will give the Philistines into your hand.” (23:4) After hearing this, his men follow him without question(23:5). In direct correlation with David’s obedience, his kingdom grew in prosperity and protection. 2nd Samuel illustrates this very well; “David’s power grew steadily, for the Lord God who commands armies was with him.” (2 Samuel 5:9-10) Like any other man, David did have opposition. Saul despised him because of his success (1 Samuel 18:15) “But all Israel and Judah loved David because he was so successful at leading his troops into battle.” (18:16)
David’s initial zeal for God and for ethical integrity paved the way for his early fame and fortune, although being a man of warfare and blood (according to the Scriptures), God decided that David was not suitable to rebuild the Temple of God (this responsibility would be in the hands of his son, Solomon). Moreover, David’s illicit affair, the rape of Tamar, and the murder of Ammon, as well as other devious actions, complicated David’s reign even
During the time of the Judges, there was no central government, no one to fight for them, except God of course. To make matters worse, the judge heir apparent, Samuel’s sons, were corrupt. David did not do everything right, just as Saul did not do everything wrong. David is a researcher in the human condition. As Peterson points out, King David is a “character consisting of humility and adoration, sacrifice and courage, repentance and obedience, loyalty in the community, and love of God.”
David was God’s choice and the Lord blessed him, “And the spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward” ( 1 Samuel 16:13). Even though David was not perfect, he was much more fit to be king than Saul and that showed in many of David’s characteristics. The main attribute that separated King David from King Saul would be bravery. David was bold where as Saul was often fearful. “David rises to the Philistine’s challenge of a ‘battle by champions’ by separating himself from Saul, standing alone with God and winning a dramatic victory because he believed that ‘the battle is the Lords’” (pg 166). Unlike Saul, David looked to God and called upon His name as a source of hope and guidance. King David is also described in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart; another attributed that sets him apart from Saul (Acts
In Ancient Egypt there was a monarchy, in other words a social structure included the Pharaoh who was at the top of the class. The Pharaoh had countless people under him who would obey his orders. The next in line of the structure was the government officials that included the nobles and high priests. There was a chain of command that would follow in the political structure. The people of Egypt would insure the Pharaoh’s wishes would be granted as the people believed them to be gods in the forms of human (Egyptian Social Structure). The nobles were the ones that could hold a government position and were accountable for pleasing the gods. Depending on who ruled at that time would result on how much power each division would get and how prosperous
Interestingly, this is represented when he is given an opportunity to show some type of remorse, by way of contrition of his actions, as written by Coetzee “ ‘A spirit of repentance’ “ (58). However, David cannot bring himself to do that. It is as if he is incapable of viewing his errors in this light and suggests a subtle arrogance that he doesn’t believe he has done wrong. It’s not just that he doesn’t appear able to face up to his responsibilities, but rather that he may well be emotionally incapable of doing so. Institutions, such as Apartheid in South Africa, tend to disable an individual’s sense of morality in order to satisfy one’s
The association between God and David is made through the clever comparison of divine and human fertility. There is some irony in seeing God's abundant creation reflected in the king's sexual extravagances, but the irony doesn't reduce the status of the king. It serves, at the beginning of the poem, to separate the person of the king from the office of the king.