“King David: A man after God’s own heart.

” – We have heard it said time and

time again. We have read this line almost in every article summarizing his life. And yet
he sinned miserably. But why did God describe him as a man after His own heart?
KING DAVID. David was the eight and the youngest son of Jesse, of Bethlehem.
He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. 1 His first occupation
was tending his father’s sheep.
Because the spirit of the Lord departed from King Saul, the Lord instructed
Samuel, the prophet, to go in the house of Jesse to offer sacrifices to the Lord. Seven
sons of Jesse appeared to Samuel but it was David whom God had chosen to be the
anointed one. From that day on, the spirit of the Lord came upon him in power.
Not long after this, Saul sent David to his service to play the harp whenever an
evil spirit came upon him because the Lord had departed from him.
Jesse directed David to visit his brothers who were then serving at war. He heard
what Goliath, the Philistine, was saying about God. All were frightened but when David
heard Goliath defying the ranks of Israel, he did not lose heart and was ready to go into
the fight. He was that full of courage when he said “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine
that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 2 Imagine how he had used five
smooth stones and a sling in his hand to kill Goliath who was over nine feet tall. He
struck Goliath on the forehead and he fell facedown on the ground. 3
David was then appointed of a high rank in the army. Everyone was pleased with
him because every time he went into the battle, he did it successfully. And this made
Saul jealous of David. Not only his success made him jealous, but also his son’s,
Jonathan, love for David.
Saul tried to kill him. He escaped from one place to another. He had been given
the opportunity to kill his enemy Saul twice but he spared his life. The second time he
saved Saul’s life, he give in and returned home repenting for what he had done to
David.
He had reached the highest glory he could ever have. He was the King of the
entire Israel. He ruled and won battles successfully. But David, just like us, fell into sin.
He sinned when he took Bathsheba as his wife and killed Uriah the Hittite. Nathan, the
prophet told him what he did. He repented and then turned back to God. “David got up
from the ground. After He had washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went
into the house of the Lord and worshipped.” 4

David's last words are a grand utterance, revealing his unfailing faith in God, and
his joyful confidence in his gracious covenant promises (2 Sam. 23:1-7). 5

“The greatness of David was felt when he was gone. He had lived in harmony
with both the priesthood and the prophets; a sure sign that the spirit of his government
had been thoroughly loyal to the higher aims of the theocracy. The nation had not been
oppressed by him, but had been left in the free enjoyment of its ancient liberties. As far
as his power went, he had striven to act justly to all (2 Sam. 8:15). His weak indulgence
to his sons, and his own great sin besides, had been bitterly atoned, and were forgotten
at his death in the remembrance of his long-tried worth. He had reigned thirty-three
years in Jerusalem and seven and a half at Hebron (2 Sam. 5:5). Israel at his accession
had reached the lowest point of national depression; its new-born unity rudely dissolved;
its territory assailed by the Philistines. But he had left it an imperial power, with
dominions like those of Egypt or Assyria.” 6

His faithfulness and courage. His faith and dependence was upon God that’s why
with great power he defeated not just Goliath , but all his enemies.
A humble heart. He showed his humbleness when he won a battle. This is one of his
characters that made me admire him. He started in a humble way and it was the Lord
who lifted him up and made him king of Israel. He acknowledged his nothingness before
the Lord.
A repentant heart. He was not a perfect man too. I like David’s determination when he
decided to repent and never again did something against the eyes of the Lord. A lot of
times, I condemned myself when I sinned. I doubt whether He will listen to me or not.
But I’d come to realize that small or big my sin will be, He is still the same God. He will
never change.
A passionate warrior. Passion is important because without it, it is hard to stay
motivated. He was not just passionate for his work as a warrior, but he is also
passionate of inquiring first the Lord before attacking the enemies. Passion for
something goes with passion for the Lord. And David had both that integrated his
character.
A real worshipper. He worshipped God by singing and dancing. He danced before the
Lord with all his might even his wife Michal despised him. He said, “I will become even
more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. 7
A passionate love for God. His deep love for God caused him to obey his will above
all else and wrote a lot of poems and songs expressing his love for the real King.

CONCLUSION
For me, David’s history was one of the most noticeable lives aside from Jesus
Christ. He started as a shepherd and reigned as a King. Upon reading the history of
other Kings who ruled in Israel, I saw his difference. Yes, they were appointed and
chosen. But it was still their decision to follow God or not. Some followed his commands
at the beginning. Some did not follow him at all. Many failed and fell. But King David
reigned in Israel for forty years with God’s guidance. He remained obedient to God.
Just like everybody else’s stories, I believed David had gone through what I had
experienced too. He was a man after God’s own heart. 8 And yet the Lord let him fall into
sin for him to realized that he was a human too. Sometimes, we unintentionally thought
that it’s because of our own effort that we’d done numerous successes. Yes, he sinned
but the Lord humbled him down. He was faithful. He’d written a lot of psalms. He had
written a lot of love poems to the real King. Now I know why he’d been called a man
after God’s own heart. It’s because even when he failed God once, he never let that
happen again. He took the blame and repented. He did what was pleasing to the Lord.
He followed everything God commanded him. He inquired of God’s will. He was a man
of worship. He was a man of reverence to the Lord. He loved God above all else.
I want to be a “woman after God’s own heart” too. I want to experience how King
David earned that title despite of his failures.

RECOMMENDATION
King David’s life has a lot of lessons to tell us. He had been an adulterer and a
murderer at the same time. Even when we failed in our Christian walk, the Lord is
assuring us that when we say yes to him again, he will listen. This is good news to all of
us who wants to glorify and please God even we failed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.helium.com/items/1315006-king-david-an-interview-with-king-david-david-
faith

http://www.helium.com/items/806880-bible-character-study-king-david

Notes:
1. 1 Samuel 16:12
2. 1 Samuel 17:26
3. 1 Samuel 17:49
4. 2 Samuel 12:20
5. http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/david.html
6. http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/david.html
7. 2 Samuel 6:22
8. 1 Samuel 13:44

Judith I. Valenzuela
Discipleship Training