warrior profile: King David
(part 2)

(From previous post)

In order to be a warrior that is prepared to stand in the breach against evil, we have to be trained and prepared. As a follower of Christ, my foundation is the living Jesus in me; and my moral compass is found in the Bible, His Word. 

There is much that we can learn about being a warrior from the Bible. This post will serve as installment one of several warrior profiles from times past, where we examine heroes who stood in the breach and learn from their lives, and sometimes their deaths. 

This post will continue our look at the life of David. If you want to read our first three warrior lessons we extracted from David’s life, take a look at our previous post. 

As Christians, we are called to both stand against the advance of evil and to love our families well. To be effective, it takes qualities from both fighter and lover - both warrior and poet. Today, we will extract three more principles from David’s life that are not opposed to, but rather work in conjunction with, the “fighter” mindset. These are just as crucial to well-rounded warriors as our lessons from part one. 

Let’s pick up where we left off, after David defeated the Philistine giant, Goliath. 

Lesson 4: Don’t raise your hand against the Lord’s anointed

Killing Goliath propelled David to instant fame in Israel. David went from being a young man that balanced his time between keeping sheep and being a lyre-player for Saul, to being an honored warrior and leader in the Israelite army. The Lord brought David success in whatever he did. 

Saul, however, was jealous of David. The more success David achieved, the more Saul wanted to see him killed. Saul did everything from sending David into conflicts hoping he would get killed (i.e. sending David to collect the weirdest bride-price ever… 1 Samuel 18:25), to throwing spears at David on multiple occasions. 

Saul’s hatred of David escalated to the point that David finally had to flee Saul’s presence altogether. This began a span of multiple years where David was not safe in his own country due to Saul’s pursuit of him. Saul “sought him every day, but God did not give him into his hand.” (1 Samuel 23:14)

In spite of this, David refused to take matters into his own hands and kill Saul. This decision wasn’t because David lacked opportunity. Once while pursuing David, Saul was relieving himself in the very cave where David was hiding. David crept up behind Saul and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe, just to prove that he had the opportunity to kill Saul but spared him. On a second occasion, David (again being pursued by Saul) sneaked into the Israelite camp at night and took Saul’s spear and water jar that were at Saul’s head to prove his intent to honor Saul as the Lord’s anointed king. 

David’s commitment to honor Saul’s position extended to after Saul’s death. Saul was mortally wounded during a battle with the Philistines. David was in Ziklag (a city given to him by the Philistines oddly enough), when a young Amalekite man came to him. The man claimed that he had come across a wounded Saul on Mount Gilboa during the battle, and that Saul had commanded the young man to kill him to end his suffering. The young man told David that he has fulfilled Saul’s request, and he brought Saul’s crown to David, knowing that David was next in line for Israel’s throne. The young man was likely hoping to receive a reward for taking action against Saul and ensuring that David took his rightful place as king. However, David’s response was quite the opposite. David’s response was, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed’.” David then had the man executed.

David, although he had a rightful claim to the throne, recognized that Saul held a position of honor and authority as the anointed king of Israel. David refused to take matters into his own hands to kill Saul, not because Saul was a good king, but because God had placed Saul in a position of authority. To harm Saul would be to harm the leader that God had put into place.

There are bad leaders that will be in our lives. We can learn from David that there is inherent honor we should show to those in authority that is not based on their character, but on their position.

Lesson 5: When you sin, repent fully

David was far from a perfect man. In fact, the Bible is bluntly honest about David’s failings. The most notable of which is found in 2 Samuel 11:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her…

Just in the opening verses, there are some things that are worth mentioning. 

It was the time of the year when kings go out to battle. Rather than going out to battle as was normal for David, he remained behind. In his idleness, he was wandering on his roof late in the afternoon, where he happened to see Bathsheba (tell me that name is a coincidence) bathing. Had David been actively engaging in the fight against the Ammonites instead of sending his general, he wouldn’t have found himself in this position. Idleness can be a factor that leads us into temptation. 

Next, David inquired about the woman. He didn’t take the opportunity to respond well. He likely engaged in the same type of excuses we use. 

“It’s not my fault she’s bathing in a place I can see her…”

“I wasn’t doing anything wrong, this situation found me…”

“I’m just curious who this woman is…”

The third issue is that this was not just any woman. This was the wife of Uriah the Hittite, whom we find out was one of David’s mighty men - basically the special forces of David’s army (2 Samuel 23). Even after discovering who this woman was, David pursued his lust and lay with her. 

Ultimately this sin led to a series of events… Bathsheba became pregnant with David’s child, David tried to cover up his sin by calling Uriah back from the battlefield to give a sitrep, then conveniently “allowing” him to return home and lie with his wife (which he refused to do while his brothers were still in danger). Ultimately, David arranged to have Uriah abandoned on the battlefield and consequently killed by the enemy. David then took Bathsheba to become his wife.

After all of these failings, here is the main lesson. The prophet Nathan was sent by the Lord to confront David about his sin, which Nathan did very shrewdly (2 Samuel 12). When David recognized his sin, his response was to fully agree with God and say, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

Contrast this to Saul’s response when the prophet Samuel confronted him about his sin in a different matter. Saul’s response was to admit, “I have sinned against the Lord…”, but then proceeded to make excuses and justify why he did what he did. Read about this in 1 Samuel 15.

David on the other hand, took ownership of his choices. He agreed with God that his actions were wrong. This is evidenced in what happened next. 

Nathan told David that as a result of his sin, the child that Bathsheba bore him would die. David fasted and prayed for 7 days on behalf of the child, asking the Lord to spare the child’s life. On the seventh day, the child died. Rather than respond in anger toward God, David’s response showed that he accepted the consequence of his actions.

Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

Like David, we all sin against God. We can either make excuses and partial confessions like Saul to make ourselves feel better, or we can fully agree with God and accept his discipline and forgiveness like David. I want my life to have a reputation like David’s, who, even though he had multiple failures in his life, was characterized as a man after God’s own heart. 

Lesson 6: Commission the next generation

David was far from a perfect father. In fact, it appears that he was hardly an effective father if you look at most of his children. However, he did get one thing right. He was pursuing a multi-generational vision, and he passed this vision on to his son and successor, Solomon. 

David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Lord. While he was restricted from being able to accomplish it in his lifetime, he worked to ensure that his son could finish the work. 

David’s commission and instructions to Solomon when he became king can be found in 1 Kings 2:1-9 and 1 Chronicles 22:6-16. 

Let’s look at 1 Kings 2:1-4 here:

When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his rules, and his testimonies, as it is written in the Law of Moses, that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn, that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’”

While David may have failed primarily in the area of maintaining discipline among his children (just look at Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah), he did well at setting an example of pursuing God’s heart and calling Solomon up to run further down that path. 

We know that Solomon, like his father, was not a perfect king. But after his commission from David, Solomon was described as a man who, “loved the Lord, walking in the statutes of David his father” (1 Kings 3). When the Lord appeared to Solomon in this chapter and basically told him to ask Him for anything, Solomon asked for wisdom rather than fame or great riches. The Lord was pleased, and told Solomon:

“Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. I give you also what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that no other king shall compare with you, all your days. And if you will walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days.”

King Solomon, because he followed the example and instructions of his father David, became the wisest, most famous, and richest king the world. 

To be successful in life, we have to go beyond living for ourselves. We are part of a bigger picture, and we can learn from David to commission the next generation after us to pursue the Lord and live for the higher calling.

Conclusion

The saga of King David is one of my favorite sections of Scripture. I find myself drawn to live like David. I want to follow in his footsteps, learn from his mistakes, and commission my children after me to do the same.

I hope you found this quick look at David’s life to be meaningful. You can reach me for questions or comments on this post at isaac@htlwarrior.com. 

Until next time, 

Be a warrior…

Stand in the breach…

Hold the line…

- Isaac C.