The Lord Takes Care of His Own (2)

“God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord”  (1 Corinthians 1:9 NLT).

   King Saul of Israel had performed a ritual reserved for the priests of Israel. and he was told that he would be removed as king.  The prophet Samuel knew that the next king would come from the family of Jesse of Bethlehem, but he didn’t know which son it was to be.  He arrived at Jesse’s home and announced his mission.  Jesse presented his sons one-by-one to Samuel, and none was the one to be chosen.   Samuel asked if that was all the sons Jesse had.  Jesse answered, well, there is David.  He’s out tending the sheep.  They called him in, and Samuel anointed him to be the next king of Israel.  This teenage sheepherder was going to be the next king of Israel, but he had a long way to go.  He did not become king until he was about 30 years old.  

   Acts 13:22 tells us why God chose David to be King of Israel: “After removing Saul, he made David their king.  God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’”  That’s quite a ringing endorsement for this young shepherd.   Doesn’t sound like David will go through all four steps of service to God that we have been discussing:  Step one—called by God, Step two—answer the call and begin working, Step three—mess up, make mistakes, Step four—accepting forgiveness and being reinstated into the calling of God.

   David’s first call was an unexpected one to the battlefield.   He was tending the sheep while his brothers were fighting in a war.  David’s father sent him to take food to his brothers, and when he got there, he found a bewildering sight—there was no fighting going on.  The Philistines had sent out a giant, Goliath, who challenged the army of Israel to send out one man to fight him, that fight deciding the battle.  No one in King Saul’s army was willing to fight Goliath.  At this point God called David (step one) to fight Goliath.  David basically said, “Yes, I’ve killed a bear and a lion with my sling.  I’m not afraid of this guy.”  It didn’t take David long to go to step two—He accepted the call.  We all know the outcome.  David did kill Goliath.  This was one time when David didn’t need to go through all four steps.

   Fast forward to a time when King Saul became very jealous of David and tried to kill him.   He chased him with his army for several years.  Once, King Saul went to sleep in a cave while hunting for David.  It happened to be a cave where David was hiding.  David had the opportunity to kill King Saul but he didn’t even though he had been anointed as the successor to King Saul.

   David did become King at age thirty, and he ruled well.  He gained safety and prosperity for Israel by defeating the nations surrounding Israel.  Sounds like everything was going well for King David—no sight of step three ever happening.  Well, of course it did, and it began on a quiet night when King David couldn’t sleep well.  He got out of bed and walked to the outer part of the castle and saw his neighbor’s wife, Bathsheba, bathing on the roof of her house.  She was beautiful, and David called for her to be brought to the palace.  She came to him. And they spent the night together.  Oops, David had been doing well in step two, but now he was having a quick slide into step three.  He messed up big time.  Later Bathsheba informed him that she was “with child.”  David had a way to fix this.  He sent word to his army commander in the field and had Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, sent home on a furlough.  It backfired.   Uriah refused to sleep with his wife while his fellow soldiers were fighting the enemy.  David increased his slide into step three by sending Uriah back to the battlefield and directing the commander to place Uriah in the front line so he would be killed.  The way was clear for Bathsheba to move into the castle with King David.  But David was now deeply stuck in step three.  His decline included not only adultery, but also murder.  The prophet, Nathan, confronted King David with his sins, and David repented.  God did forgive him, put him back in step two, and he remained King of Israel for many years.

   A less well-known slip of David occurred earlier, before he became king.  He had been hiding with the Philistines when King Saul was looking for him to kill him.  David hid with them for over a year, and he offered his services to the Philistine commander when they were attacked by Israel, a definite slip into step three.  God rescued him out of this mistake by having the Philistine commander refuse David’s services.  I can’t imagine that David would ever have become King of Israel if he had gone to war against Israel.

   God was faithful and forgiving to David.  Even though David made some big mistakes, he was forgiven and brought back into the good graces of the Lord.  He ruled Israel for forty years and became known as the greatest king that Israel ever had.  David trusted God, had faith in Him, and was humble before the Lord.  His Psalms give great evidence of His love for God and His dependence upon Him.  When you need encouragement think about how God worked in David’s life to forgive Him and guide him through the mission God had given him.