David in Biblical History

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Who is David?
DA'VID
(beloved), the youngest of the eight sons of Jesse, of the tribe of Judah, was born in Bethlehem, b.c. 1085, and was both in his prophetical and regal character an eminent type of the Messiah. 1 Sam 16:13. While he was employed as a shepherd in his father's fields God sent Samuel to Bethlehem, on the occasion of the annual sacrificial feast, with instructions to anoint David as king of Israel in the place of Saul, who had incurred the divine displeasure, and was therefore to be deposed. Dean Stanley thus describes David's appearance and physique as he stood before Samuel: "He was short of stature, had red hair and bright eyes. He was remarkable for the grace of his figure and countenance, well made, and of immense strength and agility. In swiftness and activity he could only be compared to a wild gazelle, with feet like harts' feet, with arms strong enough to break a bow of steel. Ps 18:33-34, "-History of the Jewish Church, 2d series, Lect. 22. Probably neither David nor any one else understood the real meaning of this anointing. At all events, David went back to the shepherd-life. We next hear of him as chosen by Saul, upon the suggestion of one of the bodyguard, to play upon a harp, and thus soothe the troubled spirit of the king. In this he was eminently successful. Saul made him one of his armor-bearers, and requested permission of Jesse to allow him to remain at his court. 1 Sam 16:21-23. But it seems that David after a time returned home. It was then perhaps that his adventure with the lion and the bear took place. After an interval of uncertain length -Josephus says "after a few years"-David had his famous fight with Goliath. But he had so altered that Saul did not recognize in the grown man flushed by triumph the lad who had played the harp in his hours of mental distress; hence his question of Abner -"Whose son is this youth?"-was natural. 1 Sam 17:55. The superiority in military glory which the women gave David excited the jealousy of the king, and so, although David was made a chieftain, lived at court, and enjoyed the friendship of the king's son, yet he was constantly exposed to the wrath of Saul. Agreeably to the terms of the king's promise to him who slew the giant, David became the king's son-in-law, marrying Michal, whom he loved, but only on condition that he slew a hundred Philistines-an exaction made in hope that the attempt would end fatally. But David and his men slew two hundred. David found his position full of danger. His very presence seemed to arouse the envy of Saul, so that the latter determined to kill him, and several times cast his javelin at him as he stood playing before him. By a stratagem Michal saved David's life and enabled him to flee to Samuel at Ramah. 1 Sam 19:13, 1 Sam 30:18. David then became convinced that a further residence at court was impossible, and accordingly an affecting parting with Jonathan took place, 1 Sam 20, and David became a fugitive from the hand of Saul. Armed with the sword of Goliath and anointed with the sacred oil, the future king sought a home among the Philistines. But his fame had preceded him, and his assumed madness scarcely saved him. 1 Sam 21. Therefore he went to the cave of Adullam and gathered gradually a motley crowd, composed of insolvent debtors and malcontents. 1 Sam 22:1-2. But David proved his fitness to rule a kingdom by controlling these men and bringing them to accede to his wishes. The history of David's life for the next few years is filled with the details of alternate defeats and victories, of his flight, of his magnanimous refusal to lay hands on the Lord's anointed, 1 Sam 24:16, of his residence among neighboring tribes, of the episode of Abigail, 1 Sam 25, and finally of the battle of Gilboa, in which Jonathan fell and Saul slew himself, unable to bear defeat. 1 Sam 31. The lament which he then composed is one of the noblest odes of friendship, and a monument of his generosity to a fallen foe and of devotion to a fallen friend. 2 Sam 1:19-27. Then David, by divine direction, removed to Hebron, where the chief men of Judah met him and offered him the government of their tribe, which he accepted. Accordingly, he was anointed for the second time. 2 Sam 2:4. In Hebron, as king of Judah, he reigned seven years and a half. During this time Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, by means of the skilful general Abner, maintained a decreasing semblance of authority over Israel. But at length he and Abner were killed, and thus the way prepared for the execution of God's plan to set David on the throne of united Israel. David was solemnly anointed for the third time. 2 Sam 5:3. Soon after he assumed the government he obtained possession of Jerusalem, reduced the fortress which the Jebusites had maintained, and established the seat of his government there. Under his wise and liberal policy the place was greatly enlarged; magnificent edifices rose up on every side, fortifications were erected, and the ark, which had been before without a fixed abode, was brought into the new city with religious ceremonies peculiarly joyful and solemn. 2 Sam 6:12-19. Thenceforward, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom, the residence of the royal family, and, more than all, the city of God. Ps 48:2; Matt 6:35. To it the tribes repaired from every quarter of the land to celebrate their annual festivals, and its growth in population, wealth, and splendor was very rapid. David now formed the design of building a magnificent temple for the worship of Jehovah, to take the place of the tabernacle, which was but a temporary and movable structure. He was informed, however, by God's direction, that this service would be reserved for his son Solomon. 2 Sam 7. After several contests with the nations that bordered on Israel, in which David was uniformly victorious, there broke out a war with the Ammonites (see Ammonites), during the progress of which David fell into those most aggravated sins of murder and adultery which brought disgrace and distress on his family and government and involved him in trouble during the remnant of his days. 2 Sam 12:9. His domestic peace was destroyed by the outrage committed upon Tamar by Amnon, revenged, "after two full years," by Absalom, who slew Amnon at a feast. 2 Sam 13:14, 1 Chr 2:29. This murder occasioned Absalom's flight to his father-in-law's court at Geshur. Being recalled, he started a rebellion which compelled the king to flee from his capital and exile himself to avoid being cut off by a parricidal hand. 2 Sam 15-18. The Tomb of David. (After a Photograph by Good.) death of Absalom, though it brought relief to the kingdom, inflicted a deep wound on the father's heart. The insurrection under Sheba and the murder of Amasa by Joab followed in quick succession. And to close the melancholy catalogue was the terrible judgment which he brought upon himself and the nation by numbering the people for some purpose which was sinful in the sight of God, though not explained to us. 2 Sam 24. David was now 70 years old, and had reigned seven and a half years over the tribe of Judah and thirty three over the whole kingdom of Israel. Just before his death his son Adonijah made a bold attempt to usurp the throne,- and to secure the kingdom against any pretender, David resigned the crown to Solomon, put into his hands the plan and model of the temple and the treasure accumulated for it, summoned the influential men of the nation, and delivered his farewell address. He died b.c. 1015, and was buried in the "city of David." 1 Kgs 2:10. His tomb became the sepulchre of subsequent kings, and one of the sacred places of the kingdom. It is pointed out on Mount Zion, at Jerusalem, outside the city wall. See cut, above. David was a type of Christ. They both inherited their kingdoms after suffering. And David, as the ruler over temporal Israel, was a forerunner of the Son of David, who was to reign over the spiritual Israel for ever. Matt 1:1; Matt 9:27; Matt 12:23, etc. When David is spoken of as a man after God's "own heart," 1 Sam 13:14; Acts 13:22, reference is obviously intended to his general character and conduct, and not to every particular instance of it. As he was human, he was imperfect; and when he sinned, God punished him, and that with great severity. But he was remarkable for his devotion to God's service, and he kept himself from idols. He established the government of Israel, and extended its dominions to the full extent of the promise to Abraham, and left a compact and united empire, stretching from Egypt to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean. The life and character of David shine in his poetry- the life of action, adventure, war; the character of manly strength and womanly tenderness. Thus his Psalms supply biographical material. By means of them his heart is read. The man who could kill a giant is found to have a delicate appreciation of friendship. He whose passion led him into sin, whose hate into words of cursing, was able to mourn with deepest humility and bless with heartiest assent. It is to the Psalms of David, albeit he did not write the entire collection, that the Church of God has appealed for comfort in adversity and sanctification in prosperity. In regard to them Canon Perowne truthfully and eloquently says: "The very excellence of these Psalms is their universality. They spring from the deep fountains of the human heart, and God, in his providence and by his Spirit, has so ordered it that they should be for his Church an everlasting heritage. Hence they express the sorrows, the joys, the aspirations, the struggles, the victories, not of one man, but of all. And if we ask. How comes this to pass? the answer is not far to seek. One object is ever before the eyes and the heart of the Psalmist. All enemies, all distresses, all persecutions, all sins, are seen in the light of God. It is to him that the cry goes up; it is to him that the heart is laid bare; it is to him that the thanksgiving is uttered. This it is which makes them so true, so precious, so universal. No surer proof of their inspiration can be given than this-that they are not of an age, but for all time; that the ripest Christian can use them in the fulness of his Christian manhood, though the words are the words of one who lived centuries before the coming of Christ in the flesh."-The Psalms, 3d ed., vol. i. p. 21. Genealogical Table. David, City of, applied to Zion, 2 Sam 5:7; to Jerusalem, 1 Kgs 2:10; Dan 3:1; to Bethlehem, Luke 2:4, Rev 1:11.

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Schaff, Philip, Dr. "Biblical Definition for 'david' in Schaffs Bible Dictionary".
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