The Remarkable Stories of King David

In the history of the Bible, no individual give more attention than King David. His name is mentioned more in the Bible than any other name. His name mentioned more than 1100 times. Not only was he a king, but he was also a musician, a poet, a hero, a warrior, a prophet, but also a great leader.

The Bible is, of course about Christ, and Christ alone. All roads in the Bible eventually lead to Jesus Christ, but you can see David as a central person in the Bible. For example, without David, Jerusalem would never have been the capital of Israel. Without David, there would also have been no unified monarchy over Israel. Without David, there would have been no author for the liturgy of worship. And without King David, there would never have been a Messiah (Rev 22:16). Perhaps that is why God called him a man after his heart. (1 Sam 13:14)

Everyone knows David from the story about Goliath. As a young hero, David took action against the giant of the Philistines and managed to kill him with a stone. But this is not the only story of David described in the Bible. As a shepherd, he spent a lot of time in the fields with his sheep. He mainly used this time to praise God and to learn how to hear God’s voice. Most of the Psalms were written by David and reflect his deep concern and willingness to discuss anything with God.

Although David was special to God, David also committed many sins. He had to face many challenges and even live as a refugee when King Saul wanted to kill him. David was a good friend of Jonathan, son of Saul. And also the husband of his daughter. David became much loved by the people, and Saul became jealous of him. Trusting in God when he faced death threats, David had to flee from Saul, who was increasingly losing his trust in the eyes of God.

But David was far from perfect. He was a sinner like everyone else. And when he sinned, he made big mistakes. His sins were, therefore, significant. Especially the story with Bathsheba is a beautiful representation of this. David fell in love with her after spying on her from the roof. Bathsheba was married to a soldier, Uriah the Hittite. Bathsheba was a heathen, but that didn’t stop David from entering into a relationship with her. She conceived, and he plotted to get rid of her husband so that this sin would not become known in the land.

Although David thought he could hide this sin, of course, he could not hide it from the eyes of God. God sent him Nathan, the prophet of David, who told him a story about a great injustice committed in the land. David replied that the sinner must kill, and the injured man must restore to his honour four times. When Nathan told him he was the sinner, he, without hesitation, confessed his sin and spoke out for his mistake. David asked for forgiveness from God and accepted the consequences of his mistake. God forgave his iniquity, but his son would die. You can read this in 2 Samuel 11 and 2 Samuel 12: 1,23

David’s sins were grievous, and so were the consequences of his sins. Although he tried to hide the sin at first, he eventually regretted it. You can also apply this story to our present times and throughout the entire history of humanity. Even today, many of us are trying to hide our sins or put the blame on them. Even though they confronted with their sins, we usually deny them. We then lie or get angry with the person who points it out to us. The world grew into a debt society after sin in Eden. We prefer to blame someone else when we have to blame ourselves. It’s hard to imagine a man in the position of King David to claim to confess his sin as he did. The leaders we have now certainly won’t.

Beyond these lessons, we can learn much more from David’s stories. For example, we can learn to communicate with God by praying. by studying the Psalms, we can learn a great deal about God’s wisdom and character. The Psalms are also very useful for confessing your sins. David’s stories don’t teach us much about ourselves but also about God. Thus, honour always gives to God in his prayers and singing; no matter how difficult it was for him, he never forgot to thank God and give Him the honour due to him. In prayer, he found comfort, forgiveness, but also strength and courage. Therefore, the Psalms help you strengthen your faith in God and the relationship you have with him. David’s prayers to God work for us the same as they did in his day.

King David was a very remarkable man. Obedient but also patient. He relied entirely on God. When he stumbled and sinned, he was quick to repent and confess his sins. He took personal accountability for his actions and also accepted the consequences. He took time for God and thanked him for everything he did. David’s stories are about ups and downs. Not only remarkable but also instructive lessons for our time. Everyone today can learn a lot from this remarkable