David was the second king of Israel and a descendant of Abraham. He was the youngest of eight brothers in his family (1Samuel 17:22) and was growing up as a shepherd (Bible Dictionary). He was the father of the well known king Solomon. In New Testament Jesus called as son of David. I am going to tell about David’s life before he became a king; a description of his way of becoming a king of Israel. As a king he was righteous and brave. However, as far as I am concerned, his life before becoming a king was also interesting to know. I have chosen to concentrate particularly on this part of his life, because at that point he seemed to be an ordinary person like an average shepherd, but his great faith and believe in God gave him such a strength and bravery, that he managed to become a famous hero and king in the Biblical story of Israel.
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The story of David begins in the Bible from the 16th chapter of 1st Samuel. David was the youngest son of Jesse, who was son of Obed. Also here we get information about his anointment by Samuel, who was a prophet before and had set Saul on throne for the United Kingdom. After that, David faced the first trial which defined his future. It was the war with Philistine. Philistines had one unbeatable warrior Goliath whom they sent to fight with any Israelite warrior. The end of their battle would define the winner. Goliath was a champion in Philistine army, he was tall and strong. No one from Israelite army wanted to fight with him, because they were afraid of him. “Some forty days later” (New Bible Commentary, 2006, England) David became a warrior and fought against Goliath. The decision of fighting with Goliath for David was not made due to the wealth and honor, but rather because of the presence and honor of God (New Bible Commentary, 2006, England).
Therefore, David showed here that he is a better leader and warrior than Saul. After that fight, where David defeated Goliath, Saul understood that David had more faith and strength than he had and that David was chosen by God. After that, David became a national hero, who saved Israel people from Philistine army. His popularity was growing and spreading. That was not beneficial for Saul, because he could lose his position in Israel and thus his offspring would not inherent the throne. So Saul decided to kill David and save the throne for himself and his sons. At the same time Saul gave his daughter to David to marry her. Son of Saul Jonathan got a task from his father to kill David in any way possible. Jonathan was very proud of David and told him about his father idea (1 Samuel 19:2-3). Later David has a long way of becoming as a king. There were a lot of situations when Saul tried to kill David, but he always escaped and was saved. This proved that he, as a faithful and righteous man, was protected by God.
The most interesting thing is that David, as a very righteous and faithful man, knew Saul’s plans to kill him, even when he had a chance to kill Saul he did not do it. I think that it was because that behavior showed to Saul that he even as a king was weaker than the one chosen by God. “Saul was David’s enemy, but David was never Saul’s enemy” (New Bible Commentary, 2006). David’s behavior proves that he was not afraid of Saul, the powerful king of Israel; he was stronger and than Saul because of his true belief in God. So that fact shows that David was blessed by God and was none other than the future king of Israel. First time when Saul sent David to the most dangerous battle, hoping for his death, David has always emerged victorious. When Saul had sent one of his assassins, David, with his wife Mikal, fled from the palace and was forced to hide in caves.
Each time David was meeting anyone from his story of becoming a king of the United Monarchy (1 Samuel 18 – 2 Samuel 1) he was always presented as a righteous and wise man and everyone appreciated that. Even “Saul’s own family loved David.”(New Bible Commentary, 2006) There were a lot of cases where we can see him as a good man with wise and faithful heart. As I think he became a great believer in God and faithful from that time when God was talking to him about his mission in the battle against Philistines.
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As far as I am concerned, David is a great character from the Bible. His life after becoming a king was also very interesting, but not as pure, faithful and gracious as the time before becoming a king. This character is one of the best examples of a faithful and holy character in the Bible, besides the time of him being a king. That character includes real characteristics of a strong and faithful person, because he was living in harmony with himself and God. He is the man, who was strong, brave, and righteous; who was fighting for his people, nation and independence. I agree that David’s actions and behavior as a king put a great cross on his reputation, therefore I wanted to show the best side of his life and prove that “Bible is a history book of Hebrew PEOPLE” (Jane’s lectures), because all of them had both weaknesses and strong sides in their characteristics. I chose to demonstrate that there are no essentially bad people in the Bible; all of them are sinful, yet all of them prove to be good and righteous as well.
I really do believe that sometimes faith and belief can make people stronger without strength, and somehow the invisible hand of God can save good people and give them free choice. David was a sinful person, yet I would point out not only his sinful actions after becoming the king of united Monarchy, but more of the faithful obedience he possessed. He was a good example of active, faithful, and courageous character in this passive and sometimes mysterious world.
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