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What can we learn (both positive and negative) from the life of David?
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15 Replies
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The life of David should be an encouragement to all of us. David was not perfect and was guilty of both public and private sins. But his heart was such that God called him “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22). David had his areas of weakness, women, I believe was a primary one. God had commanded one man, one wife. Early on, David disobeyed this command. It was his lust for women that got him into the mess with Bathsheba that eventually led to him being responsible for the murder of Uriah. Yes, David was not a perfect man.
David also experienced failure as a parent. He failed to act when Amnon raped Tamar and this inaction led to greater tragedy in the murder of Amnon and Absolom’s exile. He brought victory and growth to Israel, but allowed strife and chaos in his own family.
But underlying the story of David’s life is his humble heart and his love for God. He cultivated a close relationship with God that is a model for all believers. He trusted God enough to always come to Him, even when he had sinned “big time.” David’s faith and trust in God is a significant positive trait that we can learn to emulate.
David’s trust in God grounded him to stand firm in the face of Goliath. His trust strengthened him as he was being pursued by Saul in the wilderness. His faith supported him as he struggled against Absolom’s rebellion. David strayed from God’s best in his relationship with women and his children. But no matter what he always humbled himself before God and maintained his trust in Him.
At the end of David’s reign when he once again sinned by requiring a census and was facing punishment, he says,” I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the Lord for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” (2 Sam 24:14) David relied on his faith and trust in God to see him through yet another catastrophe caused by his own sin.
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David being anointed to be king by God, him being a warrior and a shepherd. He didn’t always make wise decisions and do what was right, taking Uriah’s wife, ordering Uriah to be sent on the front line of the wat they were fighting and there him being killed because David wanted his wife for himself. The child they had dying, however, David was a man after God’s own heart.
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By and large, David had a personal relationship with God (e.g. expressed in his psalms) and was a man after God’s heart (e.g. he was concerned that Goliath was defaming God in front of all). Thus he was anointed with God’s Spirit and was able to do mighty deeds, such as killing the bear, lion and Goliath, and winning battles against the Philistines and other tribes.
He was also a meek man who feared God. Thus he did not harm king Saul, when he had a chance and his own men urged him to do so. He was able to respect those whom God had called and anointed, for God’s sake alone, irrespective of whether that man deserved respect. Thus he was also able to keep and be content in his station, whatever it was at each stage of life. When he was escaping from Absalom and he was reviled by common men, he did not retaliate.
But he was not without faults. His weaknesses surfaced particularly in his later life (perhaps when he was complacent). He committed adultery, killed someone’s husband, and was lax in teaching and correcting his children (such as his negligence with Amnon and Absalom). He gave way to pride of imperialism when he ordered a census of his fighting men. For these, he and his family suffered, and sometimes the nation along with him.
I learn that I must aspire to know God and be a man after God’s heart, but at whatever stage of life, I am vulnerable as a fallen person and must be cautious. I learn that my actions have consequences on my life and others’ too. The higher a person rises in his leadership, the greater the impact of these consequences, whether for good or for bad.
#2Samuel
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We can take heart that even when we sin, God will forgive us as He forgave David, if we are truly sorry for what we have done and ask for His forgiveness. Conversely, if we follow the will of God, get close to the Father’s Heart, and do as He requests us to do, He will bless us mightily and be faithful.
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As i have read about Davids life many times, this time i come away with a different view of Davids ups and downs. The Scriptures tells us David was a man after Gods own heart and yet from this study it’s apparent that David was far from being pure in heart. But the two things that David did has encourage me in this study and they are, when David was confronted with his sin he repented and knowing his sin did affected others he still trusted, served, and was obedient to God to whom he loved.