King David, a man of great accomplishments, and a man of great failures.
On the plus side, he was a shepard, a war hero, an inventor, a worshipper, a giver, a building designer, a true friend, a song writer, and a musician.
On the minus side, he was an adulterer, a murderer, a lousy husband and an over indulgent, yet unconcerned father.
The little Shepard boy David grew up in a dysfunctional family. His brothers did not like him much as evidenced by the conversation that took place between David and his brother just prior to David killing Goliath. David’s father did not think very much of him either, Jesse was not even going to mention his son David to Samuel when the prophet was sent to Jesse’s home to anoint the next King of Israel.
David showed them all a thing or two when he killed Israel’s biggest enemy, Goliath, with one smooth stone. David then went on to live in King Saul’s palace and be the King’s personal musician. King Saul’s jealousy over David’s war victories caused David to have to flee for his life for several years. During those years of running and living in caves, David trained a group of 600 men that were outcasts of society to be superior soldiers. David also married some women for money and prestige during that time and later on in his life he continued that practice. His statement that the love of his best friend Jonathan was better than his wives, but that was David’s own fault, for he had one best friend and several wives. Not possible to have the close, intimate relationship that God intended for a husband and wife to have if there is more than one wife. David even ‘put away’ one of his wives, which means he banished her from his sight, his table, his bed, and caused her to live the remainder of her life in childless solitude.
King David overindulged his sons, giving them their inheritance long before he died.
Perhaps he did this because of the son that he lost due to his adulterous affair with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of her then husband Uriah. King David was not so indulgent with his daughter, quite the opposite. When Tamar was raped by her own half brother, King David did nothing about it, nothing is recorded of any attempt to console or avenge his daughter.
So why does the Bible refer to King David as the man after God’s own heart?
Because when David sinned, when he failed miserably, he took the blame and repented. He did not try to put blame on anyone else, and when he repented, it was from his heart, he completely turned away from the sin. Bathsheba was his last wife and there were no more adulterous affairs. When King David was old and on his death bed, his servants brought him a beautiful virgin girl to lie with him and keep him warm. King David did not touch her. He had repented, he was no longer the womanizer that he had once been. The lifestyle that he used to live had given his close, personal servants that idea of bringing King David a virgin girl in his dying hours.
With all our failures, our short comings, our sins, we too can be men and women after God’s own heart. We learn how from King David. Acknowledgement, full ownership and total repentance from whatever sin is in our lives will make us men and women after God’s own heart.
