A Man After God's Heart

by J.K.D. Johnston, Musselburgh, Scotland | Category: General | Oct 1990

David, king of Israel, has the unique distinction of being twice described as a man after God's heart. Samuel told king Saul that God had found such a man, and Paul also described him in similar terms in the historical review of God's dealings with Israel which he gave in the synagogue at Antioch of Psidia (1 Sam. 13.14: Acts 13:22).

It must be a profitable exercise to examine the aspirations, words and actions of a man who was so highly regarded by God, for it should be also our aim to direct our lives into channels well-pleasing to God.

David was brought from a position of relative obscurity to a place of prominence and great responsibility among the people of God. His elevation to high office was not meteoric. He had many trials, frustrations and disappointments on his way to the throne, but those adverse circumstances were part of the discipline he experienced in the school of God which fitted him for the position and responsibility to which he eventually attained. God does not thrust untried men into positions of leadership among His people.

Asaph, in one of his historical psalms, recalls God's choice of a tribe, a place and a man:

He ... chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which He loved ... He chose David also His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds (Ps. 78: 67,70).

God chose a man who was a shepherd to rule over His people and to care for them. There are traits of character that are developed in tending sheep that have given men a fitness for leadership. In the school of God, in a shepherd's role in the wilderness, Moses, Israel's first great national leader, learned lessons that served him well when he was called upon to lead Israel as a flock (Ps. 77:20).

Asaph pinpoints two other vital qualities in David that fitted him for leadership, namely: integrity and skilfulness (Ps. 78:72). These are two essential qualities for leaders among God's people in any age.

It is significant that it was left to David to take Jerusalem and the stronghold of Zion from the Jebusites and that he made Jerusalem the administrative centre of his united twelve-tribe kingdom. He did not know at that time how much the place meant to God. It was later, at a time of crisis, that it was revealed to him that Jerusalem and mount Zion was the chosen divine centre for Israel, but in retrospect we are impressed by the fact that his course of action was so much in alignment with divine purposes.

David was a man who had deep longings after God, and this had been true of him even in his youth. Living for so many years close to nature he had seen the power and majesty of God in the wonders of creation, but he also had a deep appreciation of the fuller revelation of God that is to be found in the written Word: this is evident from his inspired writings, for example, Psalm 19.

The most outstanding facet of the character of David, however, was his

great love for the house of God. His life exemplifies the fact that men who love God and who are taught of God will be men who love the truth of the house of God and will devote their energies to ensuring that it finds an expression in their time. David's declarations in the Psalms show that he was single-minded in his love for God's house:

LORD, I love the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thy glory dwelleth (Ps. 26:8). One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; 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 (Ps. 27:4).

It is remarkable that David should have had such longings after God, for during the early years of his life there had been irregularities in the service of God in Israel. The Tabernacle in Shiloh had been forsaken in the days of Samuel's youth, and although Samuel was used of God to bring about a revival in Israel, the Ark of God remained separated from the Tabernacle after its return from the land of the Philistines.

When David was established on the throne, and Israel freed from the oppression of surrounding nations, his thoughts turned to the sacred Ark. It had been in the house of Abinadab in Kiriath-jearim since its return from Philistia. David set in motion arrangements to bring it up to Jerusalem and he commented on the way it had been neglected: "We sought not unto it in the days of Saul" (1 Chr. 13:3).

The opportunity to enter into the rest of God associated with His house had been given to Israel in the days of Joshua. A previous opportunity had been spurned by the generation that came out of Egypt. God brought Israel out of the house of bondage with the express purpose of bringing them into His rest in Canaan. Within two years of their deliverance from slavery that opportunity was presented to them, but they failed to grasp it because of unbelief. The sin of that generation was a "sin unto death" that brought upon them irrevocable divine judgement, for they were turned back from the borders of Canaan to wander and die in the wilderness. The sole survivors of that generation were Joshua and Caleb who had faith to take God at His word. The succeeding generation under the leadership of Joshua entered Canaan, but they too failed fully to appropriate the inheritance that God had for them. After the death of Joshua and the elders who had been contemporary with him Israel lapsed into apostasy. The record of the days of the judges makes sad reading: more than three centuries of departure from God and return to Him until the days of Samuel, the last of the judges. What a disappointment Israel were to God throughout those years!

At long last, in David God found a man who would do all His will, and the opportunity was again given to Israel to enter into the rest of God in association with His house. This is the scenario presented to us in Hebrews 4.

David restored the service of God in Israel and introduced to it the service of song. It was fitting that through David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, this new joyous addition should be made by the commandment of the Lord (2 Chr. 29:25).

It was David who had the vision of replacing the portable tabernacle structure with a more permanent one, and although he was not permitted to do so himself he was promised that his son Solomon would fulfil that cherished desire. David was, however, given the plan of the house that would be built and the details of the service associated with it. The detailed specifications were given to David by God (1 Chr. 28:11-19) and passed on to Solomon to carry out. The principle is firmly established in Scripture that God supplies the pattern for His dwelling place and men build in conformity to it. Although Solomon was endowed with great wisdom he was not allowed to introduce his own ideas into the building. The principle remains valid for the spiritual house in our day; the pattern for the house and its service is set out in the New Testament Scriptures and God's people must not depart from it.

The writer to the Hebrews reminds us that this is the day of our opportunity in relation to the spiritual house and its service and warns of the ever present danger of failure. There must be diligence on our part to continue to hear the Word of God and be obedient to it to avoid failing as Israel did (Heb. 4:11).

David showed his love for God's house in a practical way by what he gave to make its construction possible. Not only did he contribute a vast amount of material from the national wealth, but he gave in addition his own personal treasure of gold and silver (1 Chr. 29:2-5). What he donated was offered willingly and joyously and his good example inspired others to give willingly also. David considered it a great privilege to be allowed to give in this way and acknowledged that he was only giving back to God what had come from Him in the first place. He was also very conscious of the fact that the time he had to serve God on earth was limited (1 Chr. 29:14,15). David had learned that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15). Divine wisdom had taught him that it was better to be "rich toward God" than to lay up treasure for himself. We too need to remind ourselves that the things of God are the things that have eternal value; we should not be too much taken up with material things.

The account of David's life as given in the Scriptures faithfully records his failings as well as his triumphs. He felt it keenly when sin in his life broke the communion with God that was so precious to him. As we consider his experiences, we learn vital lessons regarding divine forgiveness and the restoration that is granted through the confession of guilt. The confidence that God expressed in him was not misplaced, for in his own generation he served the counsel of God (Acts 13:36). We might each one of us aim at earning a similar epitaph.

J.K.D. Johnston, Musselburgh, Scotland | Oct 1990
General