King Saul and King David were both leaders of the nation of
Israel. The former chose a lifestyle of disobedience and the latter a lifestyle
of obedience to God. For instance, according to 1 Samuel 15, when Saul went to
battle the Amalekites God gave him instructions to destroy everything, yet he
and his soldiers brought back sheep and cattle as plunder.
When confronted by Samuel about this sin, Saul argued that
he had done so in order to sacrifice them to God. But Samuel reminded Saul that “to obey is
better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel
15:22b). By disobeying God’s instructions, Saul went down the path of rebellion
and God rejected him as the king of Israel.
Following the rejection of King Saul, David was anointed as
the second King of Israel. There were several times when David did things that
were displeasing to God. One of the grave sins he committed was the sin of
adultery with Bathsheba, which he sought to cover in multiple ways. But because
his choice was a lifestyle of obedience, David repented of the sin and asked
God to create in Him a clean heart, so he might teach transgressors the ways of
the Lord (Psalm 51:10-13). Clearly, King David is remembered to have trod the
path of righteousness.
There are two testimonies in the Bible that underscore that
David’s choice of a Godly life was a good one and that we should emulate his
example. First, David himself testifies in Psalm 23 that God is his Shepherd
who refreshes his soul and leads him in the paths of righteousness. Second, God Himself after rejecting Saul, testifies
of King David with these great words: “…'I have found David son of Jesse, a man
after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'” (Acts 13:22,
NIV). David humbled himself when rebuked by God’s prophet, showing how God’s
man (and woman) humbly submits to the authority of God’s Word. May we be those
who choose to obey God and live a life of Godliness so that sin may not mislead
us.
No comments:
Post a Comment