The Life of David Series: Why Study David?

One of the most enjoyable and personally profitable biblical studies I have done in the course of our ministry here in Brazil was a series on the life of David, prepared for the Ebenezer church in 2020. Having finished the series in James on this site, I’ve decided to dig back into the archives and revisit the David studies for this site.

This is apt to be a major undertaking. I don’t anticipate simply being able to translate the various lessons and re-post them here. Much additional research and formatting will be necessary. This brings up the question: is it worth it? The story of David is interesting, to be sure…but is it worth a major undertaking for readers of this website?

I’m convinced it is (obviously, or you wouldn’t be reading this). My reasons are threefold:

1. David looms large in Scripture and history. He is mentioned 995 times in the Bible; 939 in the Old Testament and 56 in the New. He presided over a Golden Age in the history of the nation of Israel. His reign was anticipated by those before him, and remembered by those who came after him. Together with his son and successor, Solomon, he presided over the greatest period in Israelite history, one which was never again to be.

And David, the boy who began life as an insignificant shepherd boy, continues to cast a long shadow over the land that was once his kingdom. On September 27th, 2012, then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began an address to the UN General Assembly thusly:

“Three thousand years ago, King David reigned over the Jewish state in our eternal capital, Jerusalem. I say that to all those who proclaim that the Jewish state has no roots in our region and that it will soon disappear.”

Quite the legacy for a middle-eastern Bronze Age ruler.

2. As a “man after God’s own heart”, a study of David is important for our own sanctification. The Apostle Paul write the following in I Corinthians 10:11, in reference to the Old Testament saints:

“Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.”

As I studied David, I found myself enriched by his wisdom, fed by his psalms, warned by his sins, and embraced by his forgiveness. This is where we make practical applications to our own lives, so hopefully we will be able to transmit some of this in our upcoming devotionals.

3. The study of David is highly Christological. This became, perhaps, my favorite part of the Sunday School lessons as I prepared them. David is God’s anointed (from the Hebrew word from whence we get “Messiah”), of the tribe of Judah. His political and spiritual roles in the nation of Israel mirror those of Christ for mankind (no spoilers, you’re just going to have to follow along). New Testament authors place great importance on Christ’s Davidic line. And, perhaps most importantly, Christ himself makes the connection in a couple different contexts. We’ll get to those as well.

A couple housekeeping notes before we delve into the text.

1. I’m going to spend some time setting up the context. Before we talk about David, we’re going to talk about some foundational subjects, like Judah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem. We’re also going to try to get a feel for the historical and political context for the times in which David lived, and we’ll spend some time on some peripheral characters…Samuel and Saul being prominent among them.

Hopefully I’ll be able to do this in a way that will make this more interesting, not less.

2. My source for David will be mostly I and II Samuel. This is not to cast any aspersions on I Chronicles – it’s just as inspired, of course. But I and II Samuel tend to be more oriented by historical narrative, based more on contemporary accounts, and thus more conducive to a historical treatment.

So stay tuned…there is a lot of Old Testament adventure ahead!

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And be sure to read the action-packed adventures of Missionary Max: Missionary Max and the Jungle Princess and Missionary Max and the Lost City.