The Book of David: A Biblical Study of Israel's Greatest King

By Dave Zuchelli

The Book of David does not replace Scripture—it explores it. After three millennia, King David is still revered and celebrated among the people of Israel. For Christians, it should be noted that David is the first person to be named in the New Testament after Jesus. He is also the last person to be named outside of Jesus. Those two facts are indications that his undying legacy should be preserved and contemplated.

That is what The Book of David urges us to do—ponder the impact of this shepherd boy become military genius and king. We still sing his songs and quote his lyrics. People who have never cracked open a Bible can tell you the story of David and Goliath. Some can relate a version of David and Bathsheba. Still, there is far more to this man than those two accounts reveal.

In an era when many of our bygone heroes are being excoriated for their past sins, King David is a prime candidate for cancellation. Fortunately, the Bible is the Bible. David's story, even with his obvious flaws, still stands as the account of an imperfect man whose heart unquestionably belonged to his Lord.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Oct 23, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098332563

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Every one of you Bible scholars out there knows full well that there is no Book of David in all of Scripture. Maybe there should be, however. It has been said that more verses in God’s Word have been devoted to David than to any other person with the obvious exception of Jesus himself. For starters, he is mentioned in 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 1 Chronicles, and seventy-five separate Psalms.

He is the first person named in the New Testament after Jesus and the last person named outside of Jesus. That alone should give us an indication that the life of King David is worth a serious look. Studying his history as revealed in Scripture can yield a great deal of fodder for our consumption as the children of God.

We can learn from his setbacks and his successes. We can glean much from his amazing attributes and his deep character flaws. His profound love for the Lord and his pronounced respect for authority can be inspiring for all peoples—particularly for Jews and Christians.

In these pages, I have attempted to highlight the things that have stood out to me over the years. One of the first Bible studies I ever had the privilege of leading as a young Christian was an overview of the life of this complicated man—a man whose name I humbly bear. In his life, I have found encouragement for myself as one who has not always lived up to the high calling of Christ. As a man with many faults, it gives me pronounced reassurance that one of the greatest men who ever lived had done even worse things than I have done. Yet, he found forgiveness— and more—with God Almighty.

Ever more so, the fact that Scripture refers to him as a man after God’s own heart gives me even greater hope. His very name, David, means beloved. He was beloved by God, his people, his soldiers, and now by me. It is my hope that this study will also give you an even better appreciation for a life lived in the service of the Lord—as blemished as it was.

He began as a shepherd boy and rose to become the most heralded King of Israel. The pathway he walked was not an easy one. Still, it was one prepared for him by the true King. He recognized that King as his Shepherd—the one in whose house he would dwell forever (Psalm 23:6). May we join him in that home someday, and may this study encourage us along the pathway the Lord has prepared for each of us.

Dave Zuchelli

Chapter One

The Runt of the Litter

1 Samuel 16:1-13

We Want a King!

As human beings, we tend to fall prey to the wants and desires of our own selfishness. We often look to see what others have and crave to have it also. We see what they are and want to be just like them. It’s a common malady. Some call that longing, Keeping up with the Jones’. It’s far too easy to fall into that type of behavior, and the people of Israel were no different than anyone else.

They wanted to be like other countries. For some reason, it wasn’t good enough to be God’s chosen people. It wasn’t good enough, in their estimation, to operate as they had since the Lord had freed them from slavery in Egypt. While they understood themselves to be God’s Chosen People, they desired more (if not more, at least something different).

Other countries had kings—they didn’t. Why couldn’t they be like everyone else? God told them that he was their king. Consequently, they didn’t need a fallible human being ruling over them. Ironically, they wanted something different for themselves that would place them into the same mold as other countries. In essence, they were saying, We want to be different than we are. We want to be just like everyone else! Go figure…

Their aspiration to be like everyone else proved to be greater than their desire to serve the living God. They wanted a king they could see—someone who could tell them what to do across human vocal cords and through human lips—someone with skin on. They wanted a man who could lead them out of their problems—someone they could look to as a human leader. Their neighbors had kings. Why couldn’t they?

If they had fully trusted in God to be their leader, things may have been a lot different. If they had given it a bit more thought, they might have realized that a king—any king—would be a flawed human being just like them. They couldn’t lead their nation to their own satisfaction (read the book of Judges), but they somehow thought a king would be the answer. You know what they say about hindsight—it’s 20-20.

Think about it. If you take a flawed person and elevate that same person to the level of a monarch, what are you going to get in return? You’re going to get an imperfect ruler. Giving someone a title isn’t going to fundamentally change who he or she is. It could possibly inspire them to new heights, but everyone is limited by their own abilities and foibles. If you give an imbecile an honorary doctorate, he doesn’t get any smarter (or educated). You can call him Doctor all you want. He’s still a buffoon. A rose by any other name, and all that…

The Israelites were not stupid; they were merely human. After generations of following Judges who never quite seemed to cut it (at least, in their eyes), they clamored for a king. Their loose conglomeration of tribes, clans, and families needed more cohesiveness—or so they thought. After beseeching God for decades, the Lord finally acquiesced and allowed them to have their own way. It was the classic example of the old saying, Be careful what you pray for—you just might get it.

I’m not sure why he decided this was the best way to go, but the Lord gave them a man named Saul. He probably did so (even though Saul was not the best choice) because Saul was the kind of guy people looked up to—literally. He was tall and handsome—rugged and lean—a man’s man (1 Samuel 9:2). But there may have been another reason as well.

The Lord may have used Saul to teach the Israelites a lesson. He was not merely a flawed king; he was a deeply flawed king. He turned out to be a terrible ruler. By the time of Saul’s demise, I’m guessing that the people were already looking for something better than they had gained. The whole experience with their newfound kingship had set the stage for someone who could only do better—someone they could deeply appreciate.

Time to Stop Moping

Samuel was the prophet and judge who anointed Saul to be king. God had instructed him to do so when the people had shown such an unrest that the Lord decided to give in to their wishes. We still use the term, anoint, but the concept has been broadened. Still, it helps us to understand what was going on in Samuel’s day.

When we anoint someone today, it’s with an understanding that we’re elevating that person to an important role. It could be a role in society, in business, in sports, or virtually any other arena of life. For example, baseball pundits have anointed Mike Trout of the California Angels to be the best player in the game today. He may or may not be the best (although he probably is), but he has been anointed as such. Because of that, he is thought of in that way and revered by many.

What is missing from modern day anointings is the oil. In the Old Testament, when people were anointed, the physical sign of oil generally accompanied the act. Read Psalm 133 for example. This psalm of unity gives us a depiction of the anointing of Aaron. Aaron was anointed to be the Chief Priest. Verse two tells us, It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. Oil was poured on the head of the anointed as a sign of the anointing—much like water is used in Christian Baptism and bread and wine are used in Holy Communion.

In Scripture, unlike in many of our modern day anointings, the anointing of a person to any particular role was a