KING DAVID: STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

1 Samuel 13:14

¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you”

Acts 13:22

²² And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

I.                   KING DAVID’S STRENGTHS.

1.   Revolutionary

Psalm 27:1-5

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ² When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, my enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. ³ Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. ⁴ One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. ⁵ For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.

2.   Full of Mercy.

Acts 13:34

³⁴ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus:’ I will give you the sure mercies of David.’

"The merciful man doeth good to his own soul, but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.. Proverbs 11:17 (21st Century KJV)

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." Matthew 6:7 (KJV)

Colossians 3:19

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and do not be bitter toward them.

3.   Full of Wisdom.

1 Samuel 18:5

⁵ So David went out wherever Saul sent him, and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.

1 Samuel 18:14-15

¹⁴ And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. ¹⁵ Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.

1 Samuel 18:30

³⁰ Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.

WISDOM:

a.    Preserves You. – Proverbs 2:10-11

b.   Keeps You.

c.     Promotes You.

d.   Ornament of Grace (favor).

e.    Gives length of Days. – Proverbs 3:13-17

f.     Better than Riches. – Proverbs 8:11

g.   Better than Strength. – Proverbs 8:14

4.   Strategist.

Psalm 78:70-72

⁷⁰ He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds; ⁷¹From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance. ⁷² So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

David observed the destructive effects of a prolonged civil war. For this reason, David learned the leadership skill of reaching out to others. He welcomed those who were outside of his realm of influence into his group.

·         This is seen with his response to the deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth. He took steps to build trust among those who had opposed him. He made overtures to them to bring peace to the nation.

·         This had the beneficial effect for David of expanding his kingdom to include Israel (Towns, Elmer, 2007).

·         This was not a rapid result but a patient progression which took seven and a half years. David had grown as a leader to be patient. He grew in his personal relationship with God to wait upon the Lord.

5.   Courageous.

1 Samuel 17:48

⁴⁸ So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine.

II.                 DAVID’S WEAK MOMENTS.

1.   Lost Faith.

1 Samuel 20:3

³ Then David took an oath again, and said, “Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”

2.   Embraced Pride and Self Reliance.

2 Samuel 24:2-4

² So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.” ³ And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” ⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

3.   Succumbed to Idleness and Lust.

2 Samuel 11:1-3

It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. ² Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. ³ So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” ⁴ Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house.