Why was David called a man after God's own heart?

[tonychanyt]

A man after God's own heart: David vs Saul

1 Sam 13:

14But now your [Saul] kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.”

That was a contrast between Saul and David. Saul was disobedient and rebellious. David would do the will of God and keep his commandments.

2 chapters later, Samuel reiterated in 1 Sam 15:

22But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. 23For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”

Goliath the Giant showed up in 1 Sam 17:

10Then the Philistine said, “This day I defy the armies of Israel! Give me a man and let us fight each other.” 11On hearing the Philistine’s words, Saul and all the Israelites were dismayed and terrified.

Saul was the tallest man in the Israelite camp but behaved cowardly. This is where David, a man after God's own heart came in:

26David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Saul was not after God's heart. David was and did what God wanted despite the circumstances.

The term "a man after God's own heart" is not to be taken absolutely. David himself sinned grievously. David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then he committed murder by killing her husband. Unlike Saul, David did not try to excuse his sins. He repented. He really wanted to go after God's heart in faith.

Why was David called a man after God's own heart?

Unlike Saul, David pursued God's will almost all the time. When David sinned, he repented.

 

[friend of]

Because of his devotion

 

[Aaron112]

Unlike Saul, David pursued God's will almost all the time. When David sinned, he repented.

Were Saul's sins intentional ? Unintentional ?

David obvious knew adultery was a sin, and also having a man killed - was that intentional sin, or unintentional ?

Does anyone reading know if the Hebrew language originally brings some understanding to this ? In some Hebrew Word Studies years ago, some ideas were made so simple and clear in the original language that are not so clear in English.

 

[RDKirk]

The phrase, "After my own heart" means sharing the same opinions, interests, or intentions.

It was used in reference to David by Samuel speaking to Saul:

1Sa 13:14 But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart <Strong's 03824>, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.

That's the only witness declaring David to be a man after God's own heart (although granted the writer of 1 Kings had a higher opinion of David than the writer of 2 Samuel). That was true of David at that point in time. I'm not certain Samuel intended to mean that David would always and continually have God's opinions, interests, and intentions in his heart or that it was a state from which David could never fall.

In one thing, however, David appeared to share in his heart one of God's intentions...but not in the way David conceived it:

1Ki 8:17, 18 And it was in the heart <Strong's 03824> of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart <03824> to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart <03824>

But the "house for the name of the LORD" turns out, by 1 Peter, not to be the temple in Jerusalem, but the Church of Jesus Christ.

 

[RDKirk]

Were Saul's sins intentional ? Unintentional ?

David obvious knew adultery was a sin, and also having a man killed - was that intentional sin, or unintentional ?

Does anyone reading know if the Hebrew language originally brings some understanding to this ? In some Hebrew Word Studies years ago, some ideas were made so simple and clear in the original language that are not so clear in English.

Saul's sins were...human.

Saul had always been the wrong man to become king. In a way, he was set up to fail. He clearly did not have real aptitude for it...he's described early on as essentially a "bimbo." (Fun fact: The term "bimbo" did not originally refer to a woman, but to an attractive but unintelligent man.) Saul didn't even want the job.

When faced with critical decisions, Saul made choices from fear rather than from faith, but those wrong choices were not "evil" so much as understandable in context. Most of us would have made some of those same choices in his place without the hindsight of scripture. He also appeared to have a genuine psychosis.

God did not want Israel to have a king, and it appears to me that the selection of Saul was intended to teach them why.

 

[GDL]

A man after God's own heart: David vs Saul

1 Sam 13:

That was a contrast between Saul and David. Saul was disobedient and rebellious. David would do the will of God and keep his commandments.

2 chapters later, Samuel reiterated in 1 Sam 15:


Goliath the Giant showed up in 1 Sam 17:


Saul was the tallest man in the Israelite camp but behaved cowardly. This is where David, a man after God's own heart came in:


Saul was not after God's heart. David was and did what God wanted despite the circumstances.

The term "a man after God's own heart" is not to be taken absolutely. David himself sinned grievously. David committed adultery with Bathsheba. Then he committed murder by killing her husband. Unlike Saul, David did not try to excuse his sins. He repented. He really wanted to go after God's heart in faith.

Why was David called a man after God's own heart?

Unlike Saul, David pursued God's will almost all the time. When David sinned, he repented.

Acts13:21-23 It's a positive affirmation of David's rulership from which Messiah would come and rule eternally. David's sin is another matter.