The Rise and fall of David

[Babu Thomas]

David shows us God as shepherd and king. David is born of a humble birth, and progresses courageous, loyal, hero, to a fugitive, military strategist, architect, adulterer, to a protector, sensitive, lover and musician. He was anointed by the supreme religious leader Samuel in his youth, in front of his father and brothers. However, later on he was persecuted by Saul because of his fame and escaped to the wilderness and enemy territory for many years when his life was in danger. Yet he spared Saul’s life twice for the fear of the Lord. Eventually, he became the king of Israel after Saul’s death, and started the most glorious monarchy in the history of Israel.

From David’s story, I learned that, David refused to accept others’ low self estimation of his ability (Saul discouraged him, his own brothers discouraged him). While David was constantly learning, he understood his destiny and always kept a humble attitude which was originated from his trust in God. This drew people to him and also increased his capacity. He made God the center of his life (except the Bathsheba incident) and the life of his kingdom out of the conviction that all blessings and glory come from God.

David's life clearly informs us that leadership begins not in the palace but in the wilderness. “David had learned to fight as a shepherd in the wilderness, and with a shepherd’s weapon he would face Goliath” (Laniak, p. 99). Regardless of the circumstances, he nurtured a relationship with God, especially in his youth that developed deep margin in him which helped him staying calm and focused on crisis situations. An important lesson from David's life, found even in his mistakes, is that none of us can take our victories for granted.

David’s life also warns us, when God elevates our life from wilderness to a palace, we shouldn’t abuse our power to manipulate others into our own sinful desires. Secret sin is a hideous disease. I believe God will give chances to every person to deal with their secret sins before He exposes it publicly. I admire Laniak for bravely addressing the following:

“David’s early reign over Israel is marked by divine blessing, but following the Bathsheba affair it staggers under divine judgment. David’s years validate the prophetic word that what he had done in secret to Bathsheba and Uriah would be repeated in public by members of his own house hold" (p.104).

Also, “Rather than protecting them on the battlefield, he was at home sacrificing them for his personal pleasure” (104). Instead of abusing power, the ultimate responsibility of a spiritual leader is to share the heart of God with the people of God. For a spiritual leader it is very important to stick with the heart of God all times. We see an unfortunate failing moment in David's life: when he should have been “off to war”, he fell into a trap which resulted in adultery, murder and conspiracy. Hard to believe the above could befall King David, the man after God’s own heart, but it did! The lack of life balance can lead to some pretty regrettable moments.