One of the most important people in the Bible was called David. At least sixty chapters of the Old Testament tell of this great man who was just a simple shepherd but became the most famous king in the history of Israel. Muslims know him as Dawud, the one to whom Allah gave the Zabur, or the Psalms. His name appears often in the Gospel also because Jesus, the son of Mary, is his descendant. In fact, we often refer to Jesus as “the son of David,” the one whose coming and reign had been foretold by the prophets. So what is the story of David?
The Reign of Saul
To better understand the life of David, it is useful to go back a little and first speak of his predecessor, the one the Bible calls Saul and the Qur’an calls Talut.
For more than 300 years after the Israelites completed the conquest of the land of Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, the assistant of Moses, they had no king except God Himself. They were repeatedly unfaithful to God, who punished them by allowing heathen people to invade their land, to rule over them, and to oppress them. Under this oppression, the Israelites would turn back to God, recognize that their idolatry had been a sin and beg God to forgive them and save them from the hands of their oppressors. God would then raise up a military leader, called a “judge,” to drive out the enemy and free Israel. This deliverance was followed by a time when the people would serve God faithfully under the influence of the judge and would enjoy peace. But then they would once again begin worshipping graven images and different false gods.
The last judge whom God raised up was named Samuel. He served God and God’s people all his life, but eventually the elders of the people said to him: “Look, you are old, and your sons do not follow your example. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have” (1 Samuel 8:5).
This request did not please the Lord, because He was already the true king of His people. Besides, His people did not need to be like others. Nevertheless, God told the prophet Samuel to establish as king the man whom He Himself would indicate. The one whom God chose was called Saul. The Bible says that he was young and handsome, more handsome than any other Israelite and taller by a head. The prophet poured oil on his head to indicate that he was the one anointed by the Lord.
At first, some of the Israelites did not want Saul to be their king, but the first time that enemies, the Ammonites, besieged an Israelite city, Saul gathered the people to fight this enemy. His victory was complete, and the opposition to his reign quickly came to an end (1 Samuel 11).
In the beginning, Saul was humble and obedient to the will of God. But later he disobeyed God’s orders. So Samuel said to Saul:
“You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, for now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13,14)
David Is Designated as the Future King
This “man after God’s own heart” was David. At this time David was still a young shepherd, probably an adolescent. When God sent the prophet Samuel to Bethlehem, to the home of Jesse, David’s father, Samuel knew only that he must anoint one of Jesse’s sons to replace Saul.
“Samuel did what the Lord directed and went to Bethlehem. When the elders of the town met him, they trembled and asked, ‘Do you come in peace?’
‘In peace,’ he replied. ‘I’ve come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.’ Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and said, ‘Certainly the Lord’s anointed one is here before Him.’
But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’
Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel. ‘The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either,’ Samuel said. Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, ‘The Lord hasn’t chosen this one either.’ After Jesse presented seven of his sons to him, Samuel told Jesse, ‘The Lord hasn’t chosen any of these.” Samuel asked him, “Are these all the sons you have?’
‘There is still the youngest,’ he answered, ‘but right now he’s tending the sheep.’ Samuel told Jesse, ‘Send for him. We won’t sit down to eat until he gets here.’ So Jesse sent for him. He had beautiful eyes and a healthy, handsome appearance.
Then the Lord said, ‘Anoint him, for he is the one.’ So Samuel took the horn of oil, anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord took control of David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16:4-13)
David Demonstrates His Courage and Faith in God
This same Spirit of God had previously been with Saul, but God later took his Spirit away from Saul because of his acts of disobedience. Instead, an evil spirit, in other words a spirit who causes suffering, was sent in his place. To help him, the servants of the king made a suggestion to him: “Let our lord command your servants here in your presence to look for someone who knows how to play the lyre. Whenever the evil spirit from God troubles you, that person can play the lyre, and you will feel better” (1 Samuel 16:16). When Saul accepted this idea, it was David who was recommended. They sent for him in Bethlehem and would call on him from time to time to play music for the king. Now Saul and his servants didn’t know yet that God had chosen David to succeed him as king of Israel.
The qualities of the one that God had chosen soon became evident. The perpetual enemies of Israel, the Philistines, once again went to war with the people of God. Their army was arrayed on a certain hill and that of Saul faced them on the opposite hillside. A valley separated them. The Bible says that “…a champion named Goliath, from Gath, came out from the Philistine camp. He was nine feet, nine inches tall…” (1 Samuel 17:4). He was well armed and carried, among other things, a spear “…like a weaver’s beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed 15 pounds” (1 Samuel 17:7). Before him marched his shield-bearer. Goliath stopped and shouted at the Israelite soldiers:
“Why do you come out to line up in battle formation? Am I not a Philistine and are you not servants of Saul? Choose one of your men and have him come down against me. If he wins in a fight against me and kills me, we will be your servants. But if I win against him and kill him, then you will be our servants and serve us. I defy the ranks of Israel today…” (1 Samuel 17:8,9)
When Saul and all his army heard these words of the Philistine, they were terrified.
For forty days, Goliath the Philistine defied the army of Israel morning and night. One day during that time, Jesse told his son David to carry provisions to his older brothers who were part of the army of Saul and to bring him news of their health. The next day, David entrusted his sheep to another shepherd and went on his way. Arriving at the camp, he saw and heard Goliath, who was repeating his usual challenge. All the Israelites ran away when they saw Goliath because they were very afraid. David was shocked. He asked: “What will be done for the man who kills that Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26).
Everyone heard about David’s interest in this situation. Saul himself was informed about it. He immediately had David come. David said to him:
“‘Don’t let anyone be discouraged by him; your servant will go and fight this Philistine!’
But Saul replied, ‘You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.’
David answered Saul: ‘Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.’ Then David said, ‘The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.’
Saul said to David, ‘Go, and may the Lord be with you.’” (1 Samuel 17:32-37)
Saul offered David his own armor and sword but David refused them because he was not accustomed to them. Instead, he took his stick and went to choose five smooth stones from the edge of the stream and put them in his shepherd’s bag. Then, taking his slingshot in his hand, David went to meet Goliath, who examined him and had nothing but contempt for him because David was still young, with a handsome face. Goliath shouted at him:
“‘Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?’ Then he cursed David by his gods. ‘Come here… and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!’
David said to the Philistine: ‘You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him. Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off. […] Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves.’ […] David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. […] David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran. The men of Israel and Judah rallied, shouting their battle cry, and chased the Philistines.’” (1 Samuel 17:43-52)
Reactions to David’s Victory
Seeing David’s courageous act and his great confidence in God, Jonathan, Saul’s son, was filled with affection for the young man. Jonathan gave him gifts and made a pact of friendship with him. The soldiers also were very pleased when Saul gave him command of the troops.
As the army returned, the women in the cities of Israel came to meet King Saul. They sang and danced and cried with joy. They proclaimed joyously: “Saul has killed his thousands but David his tens of thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). Saul was furious; he resented this song. He said to himself: “They credited tens of thousands to David,” he complained, “but they only credited me with thousands. What more can he have but the kingdom?” So Saul watched David jealously from that day forward” (1 Samuel 18:8,9).
The Bible tells of many of David’s actions, good and bad. We will not have time to examine his entire life but our next lesson will highlight, in addition to his confidence in God, other qualities which made him “a man after God’s own heart.”