King David | Down from Mount Sinai
Moses brought fire and brimstone when he came down from Mount Sinai with the laws.
Abraham, (father of the people) brought up his sons to believe in one God.
David, however, did not come down from a mountain nor did he found a nation based on one God.
He comes out of the mist of time, one-thousand years before Jesus was born, and brings perhaps the most important gift to the world – Humanity!
Moses reminds us how weak we are, and Abraham reminds us of what children we are.
David is a child of God, and therefore, we can relate to him on a certain level.
We see his troubled years as a boy and young man:
Excerpt from the Leper Messiah:
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A sullen David wandered the hills alone and his frown spread all over Judea. The Israelites had been humiliated by the Philistines at Shiloa and even worse, The Ark of the Covenant had been taken from them on the field of battle.
What young boy or girl can not relate to this – alone, lost, and without guidance.
His troubles become ours and we understand that he is human.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
Psalm 13:1
God spoke to Moses and Abraham, but did he speak directly to David?
What does God see in this red-headed runt? David is an extremely unique Old Testament character.
He doesn’t bring the laws, he breaks them.
He raids outlying towns and burns villages.
He kills.
He hires his men as mercenaries to the Philistines and others who will give him coin.
He commits adultery.
Then why is he so beloved by God?
Why is he mentioned more than any other character in the Old Testament? One-thousand times to be exact!
The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.
2 Samuel 7:11-16 New International Version (NIV)
Why does God give David his word, forever?
Robert