60.The Playboy King

David is Anointed

Naturally one would think that biblical history recorded in the books of Chronicles would follow the history in the books of First and Second Kings.   That, however, is not the case. First Chronicles, together with a lot of genealogy, follows the history of Israel till the death of King David in First Kings ch. 2; 

Second Chronicles echoes First and Second Kings, repeating the history of Israel up to the point where the Israelites are allowed to return from their Babylonian captivity.  Because this is so, bits and pieces from Chronicles will be inserted into our studies of the books of Samuel and Kings.

Long before King Saul ceased being king of Israel, Samuel anointed a young lad, David, to be the next king of Israel.  And Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers.1 Sam. 16:13.  This story has the background taste of the Cinderella story. Jesse, David's father, brings his sons, one after the other, starting with the oldest, to stand before Samuel.  The oldest is not chosen.  The next also is not chosen.  So, down the list of seven sons, all are rejected.  Finally, Samuel asks, Is this all the sons you have? Jesse replies, There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the sheep. 16:11.  Samuel responds, Well, bring him in, for we will not sit down until he comes here. That one, of course, was "The Cinderella", the one least likely to be chosen.

As "fate" would have it, King Saul needed a harpist to dispel his bad moods, and David was the one chosen to play the harp.  And it happened when the spirit from God was on Saul, that David took a harp and played with his hand. And there was relief for Saul, and it was well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him. 1 Sa 16:23.  Because of this turn of events, David became accustomed to palace living and kingly duties.

Several times when King Saul, in his evil moods, tried to kill David, David had the opportunity to kill the king.  One time was when David and his soldiers hid, from Saul, in a cave.  King Saul went into that same cave to cover his feet; this phrase is a Hebrew euphemism which means, he went to relieve himself.  At that point, David could have made a decisive move, but he never took advantage of such an opportunity.  He always respected the king's position and authority as one who had been anointed by Jehovah.

From the story of Goliath, it seems clear that we have not received the written word in the same order as the events happened. Note in 16:18 we have these words, David was a mighty warrior and a man of battle.  However, in chapter 17 we read, Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him. For you are but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth. 1 Sa 17:33.  

It would seem that chapter 17 should have come before chapter 16.  Some Bible scholars even suggest that this story probably was not even in the original manuscript.  Some suggest that this story, which paints David as an unbeatable hero, is much like the story of Robin Hood who is much greater in folklore than in real life.

Because David plays such an essential role in the history of Israel, and even in the folklore of the Church, we need to be properly introduced to him.  Samuel gave unto David that which Saul had not received—long and careful training; and David profited by it, ... not only in reading and writing, but in poetry and music. Saul and David were both men of extraordinary natural ability; but the one is always shy, awkward, and with all the defects of an uneducated man; while David is altogether the contrary. But Samuel gave his youthful pupil something better than accomplishments—he carefully educated him in the law of God, and led his mind onward to all that was good. The Pulpit Commentary.

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?  But, this is what the Bible says about David.

The Other Aspect of David

Before David killed Goliath The young David was told, the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches, and will give him his daughter. 1 Sam. 17:21.  

After David killed Goliath Saul gave him his daughter Michal for a wife. 1 Sam. 18:27.  She never became the mother of any of David's children.

These were the sons of David: 

The first-born, Amnon of Ahinoam. 

The second, Daniel, of Abigail. 

The third, Absalom* the son of Maachah. 

The fourth, Adonijah* the son of Haggith. 

The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital. 

The sixth was Ithream by Eglah his wife. 

Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon*, four of Bathsheba. 

and Ibhar, and Elishama, and Eliphelet, and Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia, and Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.  The mother's names are not given for these nine sons.

These were all the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines. 1 Ch. 3:1-9.

* We will hear more about these later on.

Not only did King David have an extramarital affair with Bathsheba, a married woman, but, worse luck, she got pregnant by him.  So David tried to entice her husband to come home from the army so that it would seem as if the husband was the father of the baby.  

However, the husband was too loyal to his country to leave the army.  King David was disgraced in Israel for what he had done, and he had Bathsheba's husband killed so that she would be a widow and consequently be available to him. 2 Sam 11:1-27. 

What a national hero!  What a Church hero!