Make Up: November 20th, 2011

On Sunday, November 20th, our small group lesson was King David. Here is the lesson highlights below. We ask you to take a look at the scriptures, read the material and comment below on what it means to you. Thanks.

King David

Bible Text:
1 Samuel 16–17; 18:10–16; 2 Samuel 2:1–7; 5:1–10; 7:1–17; Isaiah 9:6–7

Lesson Focus:
God uses imperfect people to do amazing things.

Big Question:
Do we have to have David-like courage and trust to be useful to God?

Key Words:
CHOSEN, HUMBLE, TRUST

Definition of Key Words

CHOSEN: a person or group of people selected for a special purpose. David was chosen by God to be a leader and to be the ancestor of Jesus.

HUMBLE: not arrogant, haughty, or overly assertive. A low, unpretentious ranking. David was a humble shepherd when God called him to do great things.

TRUST: to rely on someone or something; to place confidence and dependence in someone. Because David trusted in God's word, guidance, and strength, he was blessed with the ability to lead the nation of Israel.


Quick Bullet Highlights

The Bible has two versions of King David's life, one in 1 Samuel 16–31; 2 Samuel; and 1 Kings 1–2; and one in 1 Chronicles.

Even after being chosen by God to be king, David had to overcome several obstacles before being recognized as king of Israel.

A brilliant strategist and mediator, King David united the nation, centralized power, and established a national capital at Jerusalem.

In David and his descendants we see that God chooses and uses whom God will—raising up a lowly shepherd to be king and using a deeply flawed human being for God's purposes.

David reigned as king approximately from 1000 to 961 B.C.

Jesus is descended from David.

Our leaders are flawed human beings just like us. It's important not to idealize leaders. It's also important to consider what attributes are truly important in leaders.

Going Deep

The Bible portrays David as a brilliant strategist and mediator. We have two versions of King David's life. One (1 Chronicles), likely composed in the fifth century B.C., celebrates David's leadership in uniting north and south, establishing the national capital and spiritual center at Jerusalem, centralizing power, and focusing the people on praising God. An earlier version (1 Samuel 16–31; 2 Samuel; 1 Kings 1–2), likely composed during the exile in the sixth century B.C., is a more complex story of personal and political intrigue. David's association with many of the psalms reflects his concern for worship of Yahweh (2 Samuel 23:1).

The New Testament attests that Jesus is descended from David. Almost invariably those who cry to Jesus for mercy do so calling him "Son of David" (see Matthew 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30–21; Mark 10:47–48; Luke 17:13; 18:38–39). Old Testament prophecies reiterate the promise of Christ coming from the family of David (Isaiah 9:6–7).

Like many important biblical figures, David was of humble origins, the youngest son of "a Bethlehem farmer" (1 Samuel 16). With God's help and David's trust in God, David became Israel's most powerful king and accomplished great things while yet a human being who made some terrible mistakes. David, through sin, crime, and repentance, still trusted and believed in God, and God repeatedly forgave him and remained with him.

In David and his descendants we see that God chooses and uses whom God will. David, like other important biblical figures, such as Mary and Joseph, was a lowly person raised up by God to become a person of great importance. God made a shepherd the patriarch of a dynasty.

David was the preeminent king among all ancient Israel's kings and was chosen by God (1 Samuel 16:1–13), but he was nonetheless a deeply flawed human being. Having won King Saul's affection, David subsequently became Saul's rival, married Saul's daughter, and established a separate power base from which David rose to become king following Saul's death. David was a brilliant and trusted leader, for example, gathering to himself "everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented" and becoming "captain over them" (1 Samuel 22:2). But David was also abusive (2 Samuel 11–12), and his legacy of abuse was the terrible inheritance of his children (2 Samuel 13).

David's reign is estimated to have been approximately from 1000 to 961 B.C. David's kingship contrasts with that of Saul, who was the first king of ancient Israel, beginning a generation earlier. David's reign transformed the feuding tribal confederacy under Saul into a more coherent—though not completely united—nation. Elapsed time and the change in political environment, notably the Philistine threat, helped make possible David's consolidation and centralization of power (2 Samuel 21:15–22; 23:8–39). David was anointed twice, first as king of Judah (2 Samuel 2:4) in the south and then as king of Israel (2 Samuel 5:3) in the north. As a sign to unite the nation, David brought the Ark of the Covenant to the newly established capital of Jerusalem, located between north and south. David used the Ark—a sign of God's sole sovereignty—to consolidate his own power as king over the nation.

What do we expect of our leaders? We fall into a trap when we think our leaders are not flawed human beings just like ourselves. Setting leaders on a pedestal can dangerously lead to unquestioning loyalty. At the same time, a leader must be a model to others. What is reasonable to expect of leaders? They must possess attributes that enable them to lead effectively. They must have the ability to listen, a character and personality that can hold people's trust and respect, vision, the ability to see the big picture, organizational skills, and integrity. Is it important that a leader have a sense of humor about herself or himself? Is compassion important? Is physical health important? Or the ability to say no? What is the relationship between a leader's public life and personal life? In what ways is a person's personal life relevant or irrelevant to the person's capacity to lead in society or in the church?