Was King David a good example for Christians?

[John Helpher]

The disciples could well have added "as in King David's time".

No, they could not have, because what God did with Saul wasn't what God wanted. Saul was not God's choice. Neither was David. They were stop-gaps. Jesus was the king God wanted for his people. Saul and David were substitutes meant to fit the demands of the people. Here's what the text says:

1 Samuel 8:4-5
Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.

Here's God's response:

1 Samuel 8:6-
But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.

God didn't want Saul or David on the throne, but much like parents must do with petulant, rebellious kids sometimes, he worked with them the best he could. If he could not get them to trust his timing, to wait for their true king, then at least he would be the one to choose their leaders. They had at least that much concession for God's role in their rebellion.

But it is clear that Jesus' idea of the kingdom is very different from that of his disciples.

That's how it was in many cases. When they were rejected by a Samaritan village while travelling late in the night, John and Peter, two of Jesus' most trusted apostles, asked if they should call down fire from Heaven to destroy the village. Jesus was shocked. He rebuked them, saying, "You do not know how bad your spirit is. I came to save people, not destroy them."

It is similar with David. In fact, Solomon might be a better example to use, as he was mentioned by Jesus, twice, once regarding money and once regarding wisdom. In the first case, he says, "Why do you allow worry about clothing stop you from living by faith? Even Solomon, with all his wealth, is not dressed as well as God can dress a single flower."

In the second, he says, "The queen of the south travelled thousands of miles to hear Solomon's wisdom, and yet, I am greater than Solomon."

In both cases, it is a rebuke. Do not model yourself after Solomon, because all his wealth is useless. Do not model yourself after Solomon, because my wisdom is greater than his. Solomon was preaching fancy robes while Jesus preached simple flowers. To me, he's clearly making it a competition between them with Jesus being the obvious winner. It's similar to what he said in John about being the gate keeper, and how all others before him were thieves.

That's right; Jesus is the one. In comparison, all others are simply thieves. He is the only role model we need. All others are just distractions.

 

[Vanellus]

No, they could not have, because what God did with Saul wasn't what God wanted. Saul was not God's choice. Neither was David. They were stop-gaps. Jesus was the king God wanted for his people. Saul and David were substitutes meant to fit the demands of the people. Here's what the text says:

I don't understand your negativity here as we seem to be agreeing with each other. From the rest of the post you seem to really mean "no they should not have" rather than "no they could not have". In fact you give another example where the disciples. thinking was very different from Jesus'.

Remember the passage read:
So when they came together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”
Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:6-8

When was the kingdom of Israel at its greatest extent? During the time of David and Solomon. My choice of David, rather than Solomon. was because I was commenting on a book by Alan Redpath on David as stated in the OP.

I do find that a lot of Americans exhibit this kind of unnecessary negativity and confrontational manner. I do wonder if it's because of the polemical nature of current US politics as evidenced, for instance, in the political sections of this forum.

 

[FireDragon76]

What you get in the OT is nationalist history, and definitely not a moral exemplar.

David was hardly more than a typical bronze age Canaanite warlord (there is some evidence that "Hebrew" comes from the Akkadian habiru, and refers to an adventurer or brigand), and you can't expect something resembling morality to be cogently presented in such a case. In such a society, tribal loyalty and power were about all that people cared to understand.

ʿApiru - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[John Helpher]

When was the kingdom of Israel at its greatest extent? During the time of David and Solomon. My choice of David, rather than Solomon. was because I was commenting on a book by Alan Redpath on David as stated in the OP.

It's not negativity to say that neither David nor Solomon are particularly good role models. I mean, Jesus himself makes that point by deliberately lifting himself up above both of them. Was he being negative when he said that all who had come before him were thieves?

Remember, God is a jealous God; it may be time to stop all that drooling over David and get back to the man you're supposed to be with.

 

[bbbbbbb]

David is a surprisingly complex individual. One of the curiosities about his historical record is that no other literature nearly as old as that portrays an individual with that much complexity. Typically, they are quite two-dimensional (think of Greek mythology, for example). Thus, one can easily find aspects of David's life which are both commendable and others which are condemnable. When I first read the Bible in its entirety I was quite surprised that David was not a sort of plaster saint of a giant killer.

 

[Rose_bud]

I’ve heard many a sermon on David and Bathsheba. But I tend to agree with those who argue that David was at fault and not Bathsheba.

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3and David sent someone to find out about her.

6So David sent this word to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent him to David.

12Then David said to him, “Stay here one more day, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next.

David is a great example, but flawed like us all… He sinned (lust of the eyes)…he saw and then He took…

Remember the ancients…Genesis 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.

Genesis 12:14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that Sarai was a very beautiful woman. 15And when Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh, and she was taken into his palace…

Later, Even Sarah saw, took and gave (Hagar).

With every story God responded….He is not pleased

I don’t think Bathsheba is at fault here, David clearly abused the power and influence that God had given him… He saw and took

• its picked up in the parable that Nathan shares when he is confronted,
• It picked up in the story when you notice who does all the sending

God is quiet throughout until you see that He starts doing the sending… when He sends for Nathan in the next chapter … 1 Samuel 13:1 The Lord sent Nathan to David..

he took an ewe, that wasn’t his because he could…David was quick to judge the rich man in the story, but blind to see that what he had done was wrong… Once he realized, he was at fault, he repented, first to God then to Bathsheba.

Also heard many sermons about how David responded in repentance but what about his wrong to Bathsheba?... I tend to agree with those who argue for a different interpretation of comfort.

1 Samuel 13:24 Then David comforted his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him .

Strongs 5162. nacham

2 be sorry, rue, suffer grief, repent, of one's own doings, absolute

1 Samuel 13:24 Then David repents, of his own doings to his wife Bathsheba, and he went to her and made love to her. She gave birth to a son, and they named him Solomon. The Lord loved him .