GraceLife Thoughts – Train to Reign (Part 34)

Now the Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.’ 1 Samuel 16:1

God sent Samuel to the home of Jesse, a member of the tribe of Judah living in Bethlehem. Samuel learned an important lesson that day. He expected God to choose one of Jesse’s older sons based on their appearance, but that was not God’s plan.

But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’ 1 Samuel 16:7

After Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, the prophet said – ‘The Lord has not chosen these.’ Did Jesse have any more sons. Yes, his youngest who was ‘keeping the sheep.’ Samuel asked Jesse to bring the youngest son to him. When David arrived the Lord told Samuel – ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!’ Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed David, ‘and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward’ (1 Samuel 16:13).

Lesson for training to reign? The Lord does not see as man does. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

Training David to Reign

David did not immediately begin to reign over Israel, even though God chose him and Samuel anointed him. David had much to learn about being the kind of king God wanted to reign over His people.

How did God train David to reign? He began by removing His Spirit from King Saul and sending a ‘distressing spirit’ to trouble him. That led Saul’s servants to find someone who was a ‘skillful player on the harp’ to help the king feel better. Guess who they chose? That’s right – David. David began his training by serving the man he would one day replace as king. Humbling, yes, but humility is an important lesson in training to reign. Compassion is another. David played his harp, God’s Spirit would rest on Saul, Saul would be refreshed, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

The next step in David’s training was in trusting God when others have doubts. 1 Samuel 17 is the wonderful story so many know about David – David the giant killer – David and Goliath.

Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God.’ Moreover David said, ‘The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ 1 Samuel 17:36-37

David believed in God’s power and trusted Him to defeat the giant without the use of ‘sword and shield.’ All David needed was a sling shot, a stone, and faith in God. Goliath dropped dead at his feet and the armies of Israel routed the Philistines. David went on to become one of Israel’s greatest warriors and generals. While that might make many kings pleased to have such a great general working for him, Saul became jealous of David’s popularity with the people because of his prowess on the battlefield –

So the women sang as they danced, and said: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands.’ Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him; and he said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands. Now what more can he have but the kingdom?’ So Saul eyed David from that day forward. 1 Samuel 18:7-9

The next lesson in David’s training was how to deal with hatred, jealousy, and persecution from someone you serve, while continuing to be faithful to God’s will. King Saul often attempted to kill David because of his jealousy. David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but would not do it. Why?

And he said to his men, ‘The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch out my hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.’ 1 Samuel 24:6

King Saul was eventually killed in a battle, which opened the way for David to become the king God intended for him to be when He told Samuel to anoint him. However, there were still more lessons to learn – many lessons.

David’s Reign

We see something of David’s character in 2 Samuel 1. Even though Saul tried to kill him multiple times, David did not gloat about Saul’s death. Instead, David called on the daughters of Israel to ‘weep over Saul.’ David also did not rush in to take over Saul’s place as king. He first inquired of the Lord –

‘Shall I go up to any of the cities of Judah?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Go up.’ David said, ‘Where shall I go up?’ And He said, ‘To Hebron.’ 2 Samuel 2:1

David went up to Hebron with his family and ‘the men who were with him’ and their families. That’s where the men of Judah anointed David ‘king over the house of Judah.’ The commander of Saul’s army took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and made him king over Israel. This meant that the ‘tribes of Israel’ became divided after Saul’s death. ‘Only the house of Judah followed David.’ David had more training before he would become king over a unified nation of tribes.

What followed next was war between Judah and Israel. The battles and ensuing intrigue are strong examples of the character God was building into David (2 Samuel chapter 2 – 4). After ruling over Judah for seven years and six months, the tribes of Israel made David their king as well.

Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and spoke, saying, “Indeed we are your bone and your flesh. Also, in time past, when Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them in; and the Lord said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel.’ ‘Therefore all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah. 2 Samuel 5:1-5

The City of David

King David chose Jerusalem to be the capital of his kingdom. It was located near Bethlehem within the area God had promised to the tribe of Judah. Saul had ruled from Gibeah which was within the area God had given to the tribe of Benjamin. David, a member of the tribe of Judah, wanted his new capital to be located in Judah.

Jerusalem was a stronghold of the Jebusites, so David directed his army to take the city.

Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him. 2 Samuel 5:9-10

King David unified the twelve tribes of Israel and became a conquering king. He defeated the Philistines by first enquiring of the Lord as to whether he should go up against them. David asked, ‘Will You deliver them into my hand?’ God’s answer was clear and direct – ‘Go up, for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into your hand’ (2 Samuel 5:19).

In addition to winning wars against Israel’s enemies, David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). David wanted to build a Temple to house the Ark, but God would not allow him to do it. Nathan the prophet brought God’s message to David along with a special covenant concerning David and his descendants – including the Seed who would come from David and establish an ‘everlasting’ Kingdom.

When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.’ 2 Samuel 7:12-15

David continued to win wars and rule his kingdom well. However, life did not end well for David because of his sinful actions involving Bathsheba and her husband Uriah. David committed adultery and murder. God allowed David to live after his confession, but the king’s actions caused great trouble within his family his reign as king. 2 Samuel chapters 11 – 24 detail what happened.

Free eBooks

You can download the first 13 chapters of this series here.

You can download chapters 14 – 24 of this series here.

You can download chapters 25 – 30 of this series here.

Next Time

Many ancient kings would not allow such details of personal failure to be recorded for history, but that was not the case for David. God’s Word reveals everything – the good and the bad. That’s important for our training to reign with Christ. We need honesty and transparency about ourselves and how we follow God.

We’ll look at some of the great lessons we learn from David’s life in the next part of our special series – Train to Reign.

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