King David

So good to have you with us today. I know if you've been going through the Advent Jesse Tree devotional book, if you're visiting with us, you have no idea what we're doing. That's okay, we'll fill you in this morning, but we go through just different prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. Today we're on King David, and it's a great story because all of us relate to King David, whether you know it or not. Unlike any other biblical character, we understand King David. We don't necessarily understand all the intricate details surrounding his life, but we can relate to him more so than anybody else in scripture.

When we face huge battles, which all of us face to some degree or another, we're reminded of King David and how he slew the giant. We are also faced with many temptations. In doing so, we are reminded of King David and his inability to overcome temptation and fall into sin with Bathsheba. When we understand highs and lows, sometimes we are more excited than other times. Sometimes we are more dejected than others. We understand what David wrote in the Psalms because he was a man who experienced all kinds of highs and lows.

And we can relate to this man, and we realize that through every difficulty he had, every triumph he had, he still was a man that sought the heart of God. I don't know what you think of when you when you think of King David. There are a myriad of things that go through our minds. This past week, I began to write down on a piece of paper what came to mind first in my life when I thought of King David, and I began to list them.

And I want to list them for you this morning. Kind of a different way to approach it, but you know, unlike you, I have the wonderful opportunity of studying God's Word every single day. They pay me to do that here at the church, so I have an advantage over you. I'm sorry, but I love to do that. And at Christmas time, it's always great to study the Scriptures because you're understanding more about the coming of the Messiah, the first advent, which leads you to the second advent, to live in anticipation of the second coming of the Messiah.

And when I look at the Scriptures and begin to realize that in January we'll go through the life of David.

We'll begin the second Wednesday in January, and we'll begin the life of King David. And you'll see how much it parallels with your life and be able to see what God did in King David's life and what He wants to do in your life. It will be a very practical time as we study God's Word together. So this is kind of a precursor to what's going to happen as we begin to study the life of King David. When I think of King David, I think of family. I think of family. Why not? He was born in a family that wasn't very wealthy.

That's most of us. None of us are of noble birth necessarily, but David was born in a family that wasn't truly very wealthy at all. How do we know that? Well, first of all, they had no servants.

Servants would tend to the sheep. David was the one who would tend to the sheep in his family. So we know that they weren't a very wealthy family. The gift that Jesse gave to King Saul was a gift that would represent poverty, not wealth. And in that family, David was not even a well-known figure. He was the eighth of eight boys. There were seven boys before him. And when Samuel came because God had rejected King Saul, he had chosen another one from the line of Jesse. Samuel came and Jesse brought out his boys, but he didn't bring out David.

Because for some reason, Eliab, who was the biggest one and the most prominent one, surely he would be the next king of Israel. And when Samuel went through all the boys, he said, is that it? Is there anybody else? Well, yeah, we got one out in the field someplace, but you're not interested in him, are you? He was kind of overlooked. He would be the next king of Israel. But we think of David, we think of family because of what our prophecy is concerning the whole emphasis of our devotional book, the Advent Jesse tree, when it says in Isaiah 11, then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.

From the family of David, the family of Jesse, would come the branch, the Messiah. So we think of King David, we think of family and that family tree that would bear the name branch, the Messiah of Israel. Maybe you don't think of family when you think of David, maybe you think of physicality, his physical stature, his physical nature, because he was quite the man, he was quite the studly man. Listen to what the Bible says.

First Samuel, first Samuel chapter 16, verse number 12. So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ready with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. He was no slouch, David. He was a man who was very handsome. In fact, it would say earlier in verse number 18, behold, I have seen the son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who was a skillful magician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man, and the Lord is with him. So twice he is called a handsome man. He was quite the stud, David was.

He was a mighty man of valor. He was a warrior. And sometimes we think of David, we do think of his physicality because he was quite the ladies man. He was a charmer of women. He was a quite handsome young man. And sometimes when we think David, we do think of his physicality. Sometimes we think of his family. Or thirdly, we might think of his shepherdology.

He was a great shepherd. Listen to what the psalmist said. Psalm 78, verse 70 says, he that is God also chose David his servant. Not David as prophet, not David as king, David as servant. Because the most prominent people in the kingdom of God are servants. He's characterized as a servant. And took him from the sheepfolds, from the care of the ewes. With sucking lambs he brought him, to shepherd Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands.

We think of King David, we think of his shepherdology. His ability to not only tend and care for the sheep, but to tend and care for the nation itself, the nation of Israel. He shepherded them with the the integrity, the wholeness, the completeness. With all that he had from the inside out. So much so that at the end of his ministry, as he was talking to his son, he said to him in 2nd Samuel chapter 23, verse number three, the God of Israel said, the rock of Israel spoke to me.

He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises. A morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth through sunshine after rain. He said, son if you're going to reign, you're going to reign in the kingdom of God, and you're going to lead the nation of Israel. You have got to be the most refreshing kind of king there is, and that is the one who rules righteously. That's what David did. So we think of his family, we think of his physicality, we think of his shepherdology, but there's more to King David than that.

It's hard to to pinhole a certain kind of character quality of this man because it's so far reaching. We can think of his musicality. He was a chief musician, a skilled musician. We understand that more when it comes to what it says in verse number 14 of first Samuel 16.

The spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord terrorized him. Saul's servants then said to him, behold now an evil spirit from God is terrorizing you. Let our Lord now command your servants who are before you. Let them seek a man who is a skillful player on the harp, and he shall come about when the evil spirit from God is on you, and he shall play the harp with his hand, and you will be well. So Saul said to his servants, provide for me now a man who can play well and bring him to me.

Then one of the young men answered and said, behold I have seen a son of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man, and the Lord is with him. So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, send me your son David who was with the flock. And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread and a jug of wine and a young goat and sent them to Saul by David his son. Then David came to Saul and attended him, and Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor bearer.

And Saul said to Jesse saying, let David now stand before me for he has found favor in my sight. So it came about whenever the evil spirit from God came to Saul, David would take his harp and play it with his hand, and Saul would be refreshed and be well, and the evil spirit would depart from him. That whole scenario is one that we will unfold for you in the new year, how this evil spirit would come upon Saul, and how the Spirit of the Lord had come upon David. And Saul would need someone like David to come and as a skillful musician to soothe his spirit.

Listen to the words of Proverbs. This is a great verse. Proverbs chapter 18, verse number 16. Listen to this. A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. Isn't that good? That's what happened in David's life. A man's gift makes room for him and brings him before great men. Don't ever think for a moment that the gift that God has given you is not designed to be used for his glory and honor. David was a shepherd boy. He was a skillful musician. He learned to play on his own. He would play on a regular basis.

He would write many songs. In fact, before David, the songs that were written in scripture were songs that would be a record of Israel's triumphs. And so they would write songs that would equate with their ability and God's ability, rather, to cause them to triumph over their enemies. But David came along and he was different because the songs he would write were songs that pertained to his life and how God would intervene in his life to demonstrate to him the greatness of God's own character. He would change the way we would write songs.

And David became that chief musician. And while he was a young boy playing out in the fields, the open fields for just a few herd of sheep, one day he was called before the king to play because a man's gift makes room for him. Don't ever think that because you're gifted, you have to make a name for yourself. If God wants you before a great man, guess what? You'll be there. If he doesn't want you before a great man, guess what? You won't be there. That's why Peter would say, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God's destiny and he will exalt you in due time.

If God's going to exalt you, it's going to be in his time, not your time. But if you don't humble yourself under his mighty hand, then there is no exaltation. David was a humble man playing specifically for just a few sheep. I'm not sure they even cared, but his music was in honor of his God. He would play for his God with no audience until one day, one day they came to get him and said, you know, the king could use your gift. And all of a sudden the doors began to open for this young man, David, because God brought him before great men.

If you have a gift, rest at ease. If God wants it before great men, God will bring you there. You have to do nothing to make yourself known because if God knows you, that's all you need. That's not what King David, see, when he was just a shepherd boy. So maybe when you hear the name David, you think of his family. Maybe you think of his physicality, his shepherdology, or maybe even his musicality because he truly was a chief musician. But for the most part, we think of King David, we think of his bravery.

Isn't that true? The slingshot that killed and slayed the giant. It's recorded in 1 Samuel chapter 17. If you've got your Bible, turn there with me, if you would, please, just for a brief moment, because this is the story we know best. But in all reality, listen carefully, it's a story we know least. Did you hear what I said? It's a story we know best, so we think, but in reality it's a story we know least because 1 Samuel 17 has so many nuggets on how to triumph over the enemy. And then because we don't know it very well, we find ourselves being slayed by the enemy.

You ever notice that? See, we think we know the story of King David and Goliath, but you know what? We don't, or we would triumph over our enemy. But because we fall to defeat on a regular basis, it just goes to show you how much we don't know about 1 Samuel 17. It's a beautiful story. David wasn't even considered, but he had heard about the giant who had come against the armies of the living God. And he was going to do all he could in his power based on the gifts that God had given to him to be able to stand strong.

And it says these words in verse number 31 of 1 Samuel 17, when the words which David spoke were heard, they told them to Saul, and he sent for him. And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail on account of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine. David saw himself as a servant. By the way, if you're ever going to slay the enemy, if you don't see yourself as a servant, you will not win. You will lose. But David saw himself as a servant. Then Saul said to David, you are not able to go against the Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.

But David said to Saul, your servant was sending his father's sheep when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock. I went after him and attacked him and rescued him from his mouth. When he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them since he has taunted the armies of the living God. And 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 the Philistine.

And Saul said to David, go and may the Lord be with you. Hey, listen, if you can kill lions and bears, you go. Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed them with armor. And David girded a sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. So David said to Saul, I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them. And David took them off. See, man always has the kind of artillery you need to fight your battles. David didn't need that artillery.

All he needed was what God had given to him. He took his stick in his hand and chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook and put them in the shepherd's bag, which he had even in his pouch. And his sling was in his hand, and he approached the Philistine. Now, most people don't even know why he chose five stones. Why not six? Why not ten? Why not one? And some will say, well, he chose five because if he missed the first time, he had four more chances.

No, no. Most people don't even know that Goliath had four brothers. I will show you in January those four brothers. You see, he had five stones because there was one for each. He wasn't going to miss. The dude was good. He knew he was good. He took five smooth stones, one for Goliath and one for his four brothers in case they were there as well. This guy was a master warrior, unlike anybody else. You know the story? Just one shot right to the forehead, then he cut off Goliath's head. It's a great story.

It's a story about how to triumph over your enemies, how to slay the giant, how to defeat the one who has the overwhelming upper hand on you, except you serve the living and true God. What a brave young man. We know him for his bravery, his family, his musicality, his physicality, his shepherdology, but also his popularity. This was a very popular man. He stood for everything the Jews believed was important. As a shepherd, he represented the working class. As a soldier, he represented the warriors of Israel who protected the nation.

As king, he represented the leaders of the nation. As a musician, his songs spoke to the needs of the nation. This man could relate to everybody in Israel as shepherd, as king, as warrior, as leader, as musician, as poet. There was no one he could not relate to. He relates to your life. That's why we love him so. We understand David, unlike we understand any other character in Scripture. And the Bible says in 1 Samuel chapter 18, verse number 6, these words, when it happened, as they were coming, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing to meet King Saul with tambourines, with joy and with musical instruments.

The women sang as they played and said, Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands. He became the most popular man in Israel. It says in verse number 16, all Israel and Judah loved David and he went out and came in before them. The daughter Michal of Saul fell in love with David. Jonathan, the son of Saul, became David's best friend. And the king of the Philistine said in 2 Samuel, or 1 Samuel 29, that David is good in my sight as an angel of God. This was a very popular man. He was not unpopular.

He never sought notoriety. He never came after it. It just came his way. Why? Simply because of his selectivity. That's another way we know David. His selectivity. He was selected by God. Five different times it says that God chose David to be his king. He chose David. Oh, there was Saul. He was man's choice. That's what Israel wanted. They wanted a king like everybody else. They wanted a big, tall, handsome, strong man. They wanted to be well represented. So they chose a big man like Saul. That was their choice.

So God gave them Saul. Saul, he turned his back on God. He rejected the word of the Lord. He wanted to perform his priestly duty as king. He could not do that. He violated the word of the Lord. And then when he was told to kill all the Amalekites and all the animals that the Amalekites had, he spared some of the sheep. He spared some of the cattle. He spared the king. He did not follow the word of the Lord. King Saul was representative of all those people who want to partially fulfill God's call upon their life.

Who don't want to necessarily obey all that God says. Just obey some of what God says. It will always cost you when you obey some of what God says and reject the other part that he has said.

King Saul was that perfect example of how God rejected him as his king. And took a man who was after his own heart. God selected David to be his king. First Samuel 16 reveals that the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and the spirit came to rest upon the heart of David.

And the number one reason David was great is because God selected him. He was God's choice. He was God's man. Greatness was thrust upon him because God selected him. Another thing that we notice about David is his theology.

If you read the Psalms, especially Psalm 23, Psalm 139, Psalm 34, Psalm 51, Psalm 32. The man had great theology. So David is known for his theology. What he believes about God. How he understands God. That's what made him the kind of man he was. He understood his God. And because he understood his God, he could then understand the people of God. He could relate to the people of God. He could be the man that God wanted him to be because of his theology. See, he knew God. Do you know God? King David knew his God.

And so he is known for his theology, his popularity, his physicality, his bravery, his selectivity, his family, his separatology. He's also known for his priority. Acts 13, verse number 36 says, in David, having served God's purposes in his own generation, died. That was his priority. To serve God in his own generation. Remember, he saw himself as a servant. So he would serve his God in his generation. That was his priority. Is that your priority, by the way? To serve God in this generation. You can't serve God in the next generation because you don't live there.

You can't serve God in the past generation because you weren't there either. You can only serve God in this generation. That's what David did. And that's made him unique. Unfortunately, we know David best because of his infidelity, right? Second Samuel 11, when all the kings went out to battle at that time of the year, David decided to stay home.

Instead of doing what the king was required to do, instead of doing the duty of the king, he decided to stay home. And thus, when temptation came, he was unable to stand simply because he didn't do what was his normal duty to do as king. And thus, the sin with Bathsheba came. The death of Uriah because he murdered him. His lies began to proliferate over and over again. He's known for his infidelity, is he not? But he's also known for his humility. Why? Psalm 51, Psalm 32, his great confession. That's why David was a man after God's own heart.

You must understand this and you'll see it in the new year, I promise you. We'll unveil for you first and second Samuel and begin to help you understand how this man was truly a man after God's own heart.

And simply because, listen carefully, he repented of his sin and he never sought revenge on his enemies. Those are the two characteristics that make you a man after God's own heart. When he sinned, he repented. And when he had the enemy in his grasp, he never sought revenge. If you're a vengeful person, you want to get back at people, you'll never be a man after God's own heart. Because God said, vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. David knew that. David gave vengeance into the hand of the one who would enact vengeance.

And when he sinned, he would repent. That's why he was a man after God's own heart. Don't think, don't think that we never sin. We all sin, right? But he repented of his sin. That's what made him so tender in his heart. And the whole story with Bathsheba will open up to you the sovereignty of God, unlike you've ever seen it before. That God in his sovereignty overcame sin to bring about the line of the King in a unique and special way. Because Solomon was the son of David and Bathsheba. It's a beautiful story of God's sovereignty and how he overrides all sin to bring about his perfect purpose.

And yes, unfortunately, he's known for his infidelity. He's also known for his humility. So whether it be his musicality, his shepherdology, his physicality, his family, his theology, his bravery, all these different portraits of David all throughout Scripture understand, understand this about David and that is his centrality. He's known because of his centrality. He is the central figure of the Old Testament. Sixty-two chapters deal with the life of David. That's the answer for your kids when they ask you how many chapters in the Bible speak of King David.

Sixty-two different chapters in the Bible speak of King David. He's central to the story of redemption. Very important to understand. In fact, he's mentioned 16 times in Matthew, 13 times in Luke, 11 times in Acts, 7 times in Mark, 3 in Romans and Revelation, 2 in John and Hebrews, and 1 time in 2 Timothy. He is mentioned in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament character. He is central to everything. Why? Because the son of David will sit on his father's throne and rule in the land of Israel.

That great covenant in 2 Samuel chapter 7 that was given to David. When David wanted to build a temple, I want to build a temple. I want to build a house for God. And God says, can't do it.

You're a man of bloodshed. I've got another one that's going to build that temple. He's going to be your son. He will build the temple. And in that story of the Davidic covenant is that transition between the son that will build a temple, which would be the Solomon's temple versus the son that would build the temple that would be an everlasting kingdom, which is the branch, the Messiah. In the book of Zechariah says that the branch will build the temple. David had two sons that built the temple. One Solomon and one, the greater son, Jesus Christ, the seed who would build the everlasting temple.

And there are 40 different references in scripture that refer back to 2 Samuel 7, the Davidic covenant of King David. He is central to Old Testament prophecy. He is central to the fulfillment of New Testament prophecy. In fact, the very last question that Jesus asked of the Pharisees was about David and the Messiah. If you got your Bible, we'll close with this this morning. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 22.

This is why David is so central to scripture. This is the last question that Jesus asks. And after he asked this question, nobody ever asks him another question. Because this is the sum of all questions that once answered answers all questions. Make sense? Here it is. Now, while the Pharisees were gathering together, verse 41 of Matthew 22. Now, while the Pharisees were gathering together, Jesus asked them a question saying, who do or what do you think about the Christ, the Messiah? Whose son is he?

Now, if I'm a rabbi, if I'm a Pharisee, if I'm a Jew, I know, I know about the Messiah. Because I'm anticipating this coming, right? My whole life is about the arrival of the Messiah. Everything in the Old Testament points to the coming of the Messiah. So if I'm a Jew, and I'm raised in a synagogue, which I am, and I'm hearing the law of God every single day, and I know that there's coming a Messiah who will redeem his people, and it will rule in the land of Israel, and there will be peace throughout the nation, I know about the Messiah.

And if I'm a Pharisee, I'm teaching people about the Messiah. So Christ asked the question, because he's proven himself to be that Messiah for three years. Whose or what do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he? They said without hesitation, son of David, we know the answer. We know the answer. It's the son of David. We know. They knew that answer. They got it right. Golf clap for the Pharisees. They got it right. They got it right. Verse 43, he said to them, then how does David, this is so good because Jesus always answers with Scripture.

He says, how does David, in the Spirit, meaning this is divine revelation by God, call him Lord, saying, they quote Psalm 110, verse number one, that every Jew knows is a Messianic psalm.

This is not a secret thing. This is very well known in Judaism. Psalm 110, verse number one, is solely Messianic.

And every Jew knows it without reservation. So Jesus says, how does David, in the Spirit, call him Lord, saying, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies beneath thy feet.

That is the Lord, Yahweh, said to my Lord, Kyrios. Now in the Greek Septuagint, listen carefully. In the Greek Septuagint, every time the word Yahweh is translated in the Greek, it's translated Kyrios every single time with that exception. Meaning that Kyrios, Lord, is Yahweh. They're equal. They're equal. So he says, how is it that the Lord, Yahweh, we all know who his name is, we all know him, said to my Lord, this is David speaking, sit at my right hand until I put thine enemies beneath thy feet.

If David calls him Lord or Kyrios, how is he his son? How can David call the Messiah his Lord, if the Messiah is his son? You answer that question. He got him. He uses their Old Testament, our Old Testament, to prove that he's the Messiah. Verse 46, and no one was able to answer him a word, nor did anyone dare from that day on to ask him another question. Why couldn't they answer him a word? Because if they answered him, they would have to say that he was the Messiah. Why? If I'm a ruler in Israel and I got some guy coming down preaching that he's the Messiah, what's the very first thing I do?

I go check the temple records to see if he's in the line of David. Right? Because if he's not in the line of David, discussion's over. There's no more questions to ask. He can't be in the kingly line, must not be the Messiah. Don't you think that that's what the leaders of Israel did? Absolutely. Sure they did. That's the very first thing they did, because he was never accused of not being in the line of the Messiah, because he was.

Right? So they know he's in the line of David. So how is it David calls his son, Lord? How could that be? Because the issue with the Messiah is, yes, he is the son of David, the son of man, but he's also the son of God. That's why in the book of Revelation chapter 22, Christ says, I am the bright and morning star.

I am the root and I am the offspring of David. I am the source of David's life and line, and I am the son of David's life and line. You see, the Messiah is son of God and son of man. They should have known Isaiah 9, 6. We all know it. We get our Christmas cards every year. I've already got a Christmas card, three of them that had the verse on it, Isaiah 9, 6. For unto us, a child is born. For unto us, a son is given. The son can't be born because the son is eternal. The child is born. The son is given, right?

Speaks to the humanity and the divinity of the Messiah. So Jesus asks a simple question, whose son is the Messiah? Whose son is he? He's son of David. We know that. That answered me this question. How is it David, under the inspiration of the Spirit, said these words? And he quotes Psalm 1101. How can that son be his Lord? Two, unless the Messiah is divine. He's God in the flesh. You see that? That's why David is known for his centrality. He is the center of Old Testament prophecy, because from the line of David comes that great and wonderful seed, the Messiah.

Who will sit on his father's throne on Mount Zion, in that temple that he, the Messiah, the branch will build. And Israel will live in peace and harmony for all eternity, because the arrival of the Messiah. See that? Tonight when you sit around talking to your children, explain to them the greatness of this man, King David. Why he is so important to the prophecies concerning Christmas, and why he is so relevant to your life and to mine. As God begins to unfold for us in the new year, the story of this man, we will see how God works in every one of our lives in unique and wonderful ways, because that's our God.

Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you for today. What a joy it is to be able to study your word. Our prayer, Lord, is that we would serve and follow and honor your glorious name. Our prayer, Father, is that if there be one today who's not saved, that today they would know that the Messiah, who came 2,000 years ago, truly is son of David, also son of God, equal in nature, equal in attributes, equal in character, because he is God in the flesh. Only he could die for our sins that we might be redeemed.

And so we pray, Father, that you would do a mighty work in and among us as your children, as we seek to represent you to a lost world. In Jesus' name, amen.