To some the story of King David is just that; and story. To others its an allegory of a great time in Israel’s past. Still others say he was nothing more than their version of Britain’s King Arthur; a bigger-than-life hero to “save” their country. So what does History say, but more importantly what does God say of David? Let’s dive into this week’s lesson about King David!

  David, who was he? The first mention we have of David in the Bible is in 1 Samuel 16. We know the story of Samuel being led of God to anoint David as the future King because of Saul’s disobedience. We then catch up with David later becoming the anointed king in 2 Samuel 5. Before all that we have him slaying a bear, a lion and the Giant Goliath. So who was this man who had done these great feats? Was he a mythical person of Jewish history? Was he a petty king under some heathen king? To answer these let’s quickly look at some key verses before looking at history.

To entertain extra biblical theories about David and insinuate he is some thing other than what the Bible describes him is an egregious and dangerous path to go down. Why? Because in 1 Samuel 13:14 we read of what God spoke to Saul: “But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee.“. So we see that God himself found David to be a man who had the same feelings, passion and vision in life as God did. Not to mention in 1 Samuel 16:13 we read that God’s Spirit was with David from then on. Wow, can that be said of me and you?

Next let’s see what Jesus said about David in Revelation 22:16. He said he is the root, AND the descendant of David. Now not getting into all the spiritual aspects of the “root” part today, let’s look at the “offspring” word. That word in Greek translated, from the Greek word, genos. Meaning quite literally offspring, or kin. So Jesus is saying in his physical genealogy He is from the line of David. Going back to the line of thought in a previous blog, we can logically (and rightfully) assume then that the power Jesus displays as God-in-the-flesh is the same power by which His words have authority. He also lays out the truth in Matthew 22:41-46 where he explains the meaning of Psalms 110 to be that Jesus is greater than David to have David call Him Lord. That’s implying He’s GREATER than David. So David, by connotation is implied to have been real, and great.

So to sum this lesson up we need to also look at the archeological evidence of who David was. There is some strong evidence in recent findings to debunk the idea that David was just a Strongman king created to give hope to the enslaved masses under Greek or Roman rule. For sake of time I won’t go into detail but I will list them for you to do your own research. Prior to 1993 theories of David being real were becoming prevalent as more and more archeological digs from that tike didnt show anything to point to a King David until the Tel Dan Stele Tablet; which clearly mentions of House of David, meaning a royal family. Next we have the Yeho’ezer Seal which was just recently discovered and interpreted to be the seal of two men, one of the men being mentioned in 1 Chronicles 12:6 as one of David’s mighty men. Another corroborating piece of history to the lineage and court of David is the Mesha Stone. All these and many more start to paint a picture of David’s reign, his lands, cities and fortresses. Enough evidence historically to show that the Bible is right (for anyone who needed more evidence than God’s Word alone!)

One final, and perhaps the most important fact about David that is overlooked is his lineage. He is mentioned multiple times as an ancestor of Jesus. The physical family of Christ came through the line of David. Not only fulfilling prophecy from Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, but confirming God’s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:16. Matthew also confirms this in the very first verse of the New Testament. So to consider that numerous writers, over many centuries understood who David was and were Holy Spirit prompted to put that down is all the evidence I think we need to confirm that David was real, his lineage came from Abraham, and his descendants ruled, then through his line God came to Earth as a baby to provide a way of salvation to man, and also to deliver His Promise to David!

I hope this short little exercise into the life of David has been an encouragement for us all to study more in the Old Testament to see what a mighty God we serve to weave the intricate things of kingdoms and families to meet His goals. If you ever doubt that, than take the time to study in the Old Testament and see family lines, places, and people who were used to bring about His plan in the New Testament, and today! So let’s serve Him joyfully and with anticipation wait for the next thing He will do!