David for King, A Leader After God's Own Heart

Deacon Doug Martin

Today is the fifth week of our summer message series we're calling "David for King." 

The story of David is one of the most important stories in the whole Bible. If you'd like to follow along on your own, you can find the story of David in the first and second books of Samuel, as well as the first book of Chronicles. They're actually great books to read because they tell a great story. So that's one of the challenges that we're making in the course of this series. Read the story of David.  

David had such an impact on the history of Israel.  Nearly every biblical book written after him was written in reference to him. Every prophet preached about him. Every king was compared to him, and none came close to his achievements. More than that, to understand David and his story, is to understand the heart of the story that's the Old Testament and the work of preparation it represents for the coming of Christ. If we don’t know who David is then we won’t understand the throne that King Jesus sits on. That's why we're devoting a whole series just to him. 

We have been covering the life of David for several weeks now so if you're traveling in the course of this series, as many people are, or if you have missed the first four weeks of this series, you can always catch up by going to our website, saintmary.life to listen or read the previous weeks.

In the Gospel for today, Jesus responds to his disciple’s request for instructions on prayer: “Lord, teach us to pray.” Having taught his disciples to whom they should pray (God as Father) and what to pray for (God’s Kingdom, daily bread, mercy and strength in adversity), Jesus then rounds out his lesson with advice on how to pray, namely, with persistence. As we read Jesus’ brief parable, we should avoid comparing God to the reluctant friend whom we need to hassle to get what we need. Rather, the point is this: God is much more willing to respond to our prayer than we are to pray.

It took humility on the disciples part to admit they needed help learning how to pray, but when Jesus did teach them, he told them to do it often, to trust God, and to hold nothing back from the Father.

The Gospel today fits nicely with our series on David, who is a complex, fascinating leader. David remains one of the most transparent, commanding figures in the Bible. In both his gifts and his flaws, we see a man of God who grows into a great leader. And from him, we can learn a lot about leadership as God would have us lead.

In last week's message, we took a look at David as a young rising star in the Kingdom of Israel. While the reigning king, Saul, descended deeper and deeper into poor decisions, bad choices, and widening unpopularity, Saul came to resent David so much so that he eventually set out to kill him. And while David kept himself out of harm's way, he refused to fight Saul because he considered him the legitimate king. He knew that one day, sooner or later, he himself would be king. And he just waited on God and God's timing to make that happen. Have you prayed and had to wait? In the story of David, we're shown the goodness of David's heart. 

Eventually, the day does arrive when David's time comes. At this point in the story, which can be found in 2 Samuel, the Bible says that in the heat of an ill-advised battle, King Saul is fatally wounded. After his death, there's a power vacuum. Half the country rallies around Saul's son and half around David. But David grows stronger and stronger in the process. We read this over and over again in David's story. David stopped, he paused, he inquired of the Lord. He took time to pray and he continued to pray.  We read again and again in David's story, David became more powerful because God was with him. It's a pattern and it's simple as can be. Before David did anything, he stopped, he paused, he prayed, he asked God, "What do you want me to do?", and he waited for the answer. And you know what? That's a prayer God always answers.

Next David makes two very interesting executive decisions. First, he decides to relocate the capital of Israel from where it had been, a place called Hebron, to the city of Jerusalem. This was not done randomly, as this helped unite the northern and southern tribes of Israel, which had been at war with one another since Saul's death because Jerusalem sat on the border between the north and the south. Jerusalem would have been considered a neutral city among all of the 12 tribes. And by moving the capital there, David demonstrates his desire to be an impartial ruler of all the people. 

David's second major decision is to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the new capital. What's the Ark of the Covenant, you might ask? Well, you know, it's what Harrison Ford was running around trying to find in that movie. Actually, the Bible tells us that it was a chest Moses ordered to be built during the exodus of Israel from Egypt. And the chest contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments that Moses received from God on Mount Sinai, as well as some of the preserved manna or bread that was miraculously given in the desert to the people of Israel. The ark was considered the holiest object in the kingdom. The holy of holies, the presence of God Himself among them. Exactly and precisely like the tabernacle in our own church.

David wanted to bring the ark to Jerusalem to underscore that God is present with His people, that God makes His home with His people, and that He is really the head and the leader of the nation. He is the King of the people. And so David hosts a celebration for the ark's arrival. "David and all the house of Israel danced before the Lord with all their might." It's a strange thing for David to do, isn't it? A warrior and a king to dance in the streets in public before the ark. It's so odd that David's wife, Michal, sees it and she's angry and embarrassed. We read, "Michal, daughter of King Saul, looked down from her window, and when she saw King David jumping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him with all her heart." So a wife is mortified by her husband. That never happens in marriage, does it?

When David gets home, of course, he catches it from Michal who scolds him with deep sarcasm, "How well the king of Israel has honored himself today, exposing himself to the view of his followers, as a commoner might expose himself." David fires right back, "I was dancing before the Lord, who chose me over your father." 

Whoa now, David. 

"When he appointed me ruler over Israel, I made merry before and I'll do it again."

Well, beyond a fairly typical marital spat, what does this mean and why is it even in the Bible? It seems so odd. It's actually hugely important to the story. Consider the situation. David has just become king and he had to fight his way to get there. And now he's the most powerful person in the land and one of the most powerful figures on earth. The pressure to look and behave nobly and regally must have been great. Expectations were high. All eyes were on him. And what does he do? He dances in the street like a child out of uninhibited joy. He's completely vulnerable before all the people, and nobody had ever seen a king act like that.

David's vulnerability showed his trust in God. God raised up exactly the leader He wanted, a leader after His own heart, who isn't afraid to be vulnerable for the sake of serving and worshiping Him. And so God makes this promise to David, "I was with you wherever you went. I cut down all your enemies before you. And I'll make your name like that of the greatest on Earth. Your kingdom will last forever."

God reminds David of His faithfulness in the past. It was God who freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was God who led them through the desert. It was God who defeated the giant, Goliath. It was God who formed the Israelites into a nation, and so it is God who will build David a kingdom. The success of David's kingdom will not be determined by David's power nor by his ingenuity or wisdom or eloquence or even his good looks. The kingdom will be built on David's trust in the power of God.

A great leader, in God's eyes, is someone, anyone who trusts Him greatly. And God promises David a throne that will last forever.  He promises the Davidic kingdom will last forever. But we know that historically, David's kingdom came to a very definite end around the year 585 BC. So what happened to that promise, to that pledge? What happened to that forever stuff? Well, 1000 years after David, a son is born to the house of David, in the city of David, and he's called the son of David, the Christ, which means the anointed one. Jesus is the anointed successor of King David. And his kingdom is the church, and that kingdom will last forever.

David balanced great strength with great worship. Worship and prayer require vulnerability, humility, effort. Men and women after God's own heart worship God wholeheartedly. They don't hold back. They're not embarrassed. They're not afraid to sing at Mass.

Finally, there's no leadership in God's kingdom without trust. God wants your trust. God seeks your trust. It's a prerequisite for Him working and operating in your life. God wants you to trust Him with good and great things like your marriage, your kids, your career, your school, your studies, your time, and talent, and treasure. God wants you to trust Him with important things like that so that you can be the leader He wants you to be.