David Who Was The Second King of Israel After Saul

Early Life of David

In History there was a person who is very famous due to his bravery. His name was David who was the second king of Israel after Saul. He was the first king of Israel who was chosen due to pressure of Israelites. In his early life he was a shepherd. He used to graze flockes that were of his father Jesse. He also got the talent of singing songs.

His tribe name was Judah and he was born at Bethlehem place. Firstly he used to adopt the profession of shepherd but he later joined the court of the King where he used to work as an aide. There was a son of the ruler whose name was Jonathan, a very brave and honest person. With the passage of time they became best friends and promised to never leave each other in any situation.

1 Samuel 16:11

So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

1 Samuel 17:15

but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.

1 Samuel 17:34-35

But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it.

Anointment of David as The Second King by Samuel

David, who was the second king of Israel after Saul, faced many challenges in becoming the ruler. Saul dislikes him and never wanted him to become the ruler. The reason for this hate is jealousy. As he was very powerful and conquered many battles people were liking him very much instead of Saul.

Despite many problems He became the second king of Israel because God wanted this. God instructs the prophet Samuel who anoints him as a ruler in the presence of his brothers. Saul was greedy, jealous and unfaithful to God that’s why he was not worthy of being a ruler. Once in a battle God instructs him not to keep anything but just destroy them but Saul didn’t do this and kept some stuff and allowed people to leave. This step leads to his downfall and his jealousy did this work quickly. 

1 Samuel 16:1

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

1 Samuel 16:12-13

 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

Psalm 89:20

I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have anointed him.

David Victory Against Goliath

There was a Philistine giant named Goliath who was very powerful and brave. Nobody was able to defeat him. When he came in every battle he was always nicely and heavily equipped with full protection. 

Goliath and David were in front of each other in battle which was held in the valley of Elah. At that time everyone was feared by Goliath because he looked very powerful due to his height and fully equipped armor. His height was 9 feet and 9 inches which was huge. But at this time he was going to be killed by him. 

On the other hand of Goliath’s army he was with just stones and sting. But he took a stone and killed Goliath with a shot. At that moment everybody including Saul get shocked. They were not in a position to accept that a young man killed a fully equipped person with a stone. 

Everyone was so happy and the level of their courage increased a lot. This was the time when his honour arose in everybody’s sight. All of them enjoy their victory with songs and praises.

1 Samuel 17:45

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.

1 Samuel 17:49

Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.

1 Samuel 17:50

So David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.

Saul’s Jealousy For David And His Rise

Jealousy of Saul became very high because he was thinking that this guy would take his place. He was very famous among people due to his bravery and brave people have the right to be a ruler. With the passage of time  David got more famous and along with this Saul’s jealousy caught on peak. 

He never wanted him to take his rule therefore he wanted to kill him somehow. For this he planned to kill him but when he came to know Saul’s intentions he fled from the place to Judah to save his life. As Saul was a ruler and his son was his friend so can’t fight against him. Therefore to protect himself from jealousy and brutality if Saul he prefers to leave the place.

1 Samuel 18:6-7

When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.”

1 Samuel 18:9

And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David.

1 Samuel 18:12

Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David but had departed from Saul.

Friendship of David With Saul’s Son

When He came to the court as an aide he became friends with a most humble and nice person. His name was Jonathan but unfortunately he was the son of Saul. After getting to know his power Jonathan always wishes him to be a king but Saul didn’t want that. He wanted his son to be the next ruler of Israel. 

Jonathan was a prince so he gave his friend a lot of gifts including expensive clothes and equipment. Their friendship was very deep and they promised each other to always help in a bad time and never leave each other in any situation.

1 Samuel 18:1

After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.

1 Samuel 18:3

And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.

1 Samuel 20:17

And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

Mercy of David on Saul

As I discussed earlier, to save his life he left the court and took place in Judah. But there Saul came with his army to kill him and he always decided to escape because he didn’t want a war against the king. 

He also got many chances when he could kill Saul but he took mercy on him and left him safe. God was with him that’s why he remained safe in every situation. Tired from the situation Saul came back and there was a time of another war which he had to fight without the help of that young man.

1 Samuel 21:10

That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath.

1 Samuel 23:14

David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, but God did not give David into his hands.

1 Samuel 24:7

With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.

Death of Jonathan And Saul

At the war Saul and Jonathan reached where they faced a huge and fully equipped army. They tried their best and Jonathan fought very bravely. But this time was because of their bad luck. The opposite army killed both of them badly and won the battle. Due to the defeat, Israel went in other hands once again. 

Due to this defeat everyone was in shock. Everywhere was an environment of sorrow and sadness. When He came to know the news he got very upset about the death of his best friend. He mourns and weeps badly and says songs in the remembrance of his friend.

2 Samuel 1:11

Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them.

2 Samuel 1:17

David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan,

2 Samuel 1:26

I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women.

Bringing The Ark of Covenant by David

After that Jesse’s son was chosen as the ruler of Israel publicly. He promised to rule bravely and honestly. He fought the battles and always won. In his reign he took over Palestine while defeating philistines. His reign was increasing day by day with no defeat. 

He promised to take back the ark of covenant again in the city of David. He was on the way to bring the ark of covenant with his army. There came an incident which was not good. David and his people took the ark of the covenant on a cart and they were on the way when the cart broke and the ark of the covenant was going to fall down. 

There was a person whose name was Uzzah who was in the duty to protect it. To save the ark of the covenant from falling apart, he touched it. Touching it by a common man was prohibited by God but only specific ones can touch it. 

As he didn’t follow the rules, he died on the spot. After that cart was again built correctly and they brought it to their destiny. After that he wishes to build the temple but God prohibited him to do this act. Only those of his descent who will become the next ruler can do this job. So, he left this task to his upcoming descent.

2 Samuel 6:2

He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark.

2 Samuel 6:14

Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,

2 Samuel 6:17

They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord.

Sin of Jesse’s son And Bathsheba

Jesse’s son had a faithful soldier whose wife was very beautiful. Her name was Bathsheba. Once Solomon’s father was wandering to see the surrounding situation when he saw a girl who was bathing. She was looking very pretty and he got stuck in her beauty. She was Bathsheba, the wife of a soldier. 

He took her in his place and did adultery. Every person had desires and in Satan seduction a person can do these things. After that she got pregnant. He didn’t want people to know the truth so he forced her husband to go home and spent time with his wife. He did so because that way this child can’t be suspicious and people will think it is of his father. 

But the husband of Bathsheba didn’t do this because he wanted to Stay in battlefield. So According to his second plan he killed I’m by sending him in front row to fight against enemies. He was killed then he married his wife to hide his sin. At that time he was not aware that he could hide it from people but not from God.

Through prophet Nathan God made him realized that he did a big sin and despite of being ashamed he was hiding it. After realization he admitted that i did the sin and repent before God with a pure heart and cried a lot. God forgave him on his repentance. 

This incident taught us that if we did any sin then instead of hiding we should admit it in front of God because we can’t hide it from the king of this universe. God is merciful and forgives us if we repent on our sins. As bathsheba was pregnant but this child died in the womb and after this she again got pregnant. This child was the one who will become the successor of Jesse’s son. His name was Solomon.

2 Samuel 11:2

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,

2 Samuel 11:4

Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.

2 Samuel 11:27

After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.

David And His Son Absalom

David had many sons and among them a son named Amnon who started to love his sister named Tamar who was the daughter of his step mother. Satan seduced him and he did adultery with his sister. It was a serious situation. Her brother whose name was Absalom got very angry and he decided to kill his step brother Amnon. he did the same and escaped after this act. Jesse’s son was very angry at him and also worried because the situation was very intense.

After his return to the father, Israel’s ruler didn’t meet him which led to increased anger. Absalom had some connections and in anger he declared himself as a king. It was against the policy so the father and son stood in front of each other on the battlefield. In this war Absalom got killed and on his death his father was very sad and mourned on his dead body.

2 Samuel 15:6

Absalom behaved in this way toward all the Israelites who came to the king asking for justice, and so he stole the hearts of the people of Israel.

2 Samuel 15:14

Then David said to all his officials who were with him in Jerusalem, “Come! We must flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom. We must leave immediately, or he will move quickly to overtake us and bring ruin on us and put the city to the sword.”

2 Samuel 18:33

The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!”

Death of The King

When Jesse’s son became very old he was very weak. At that stage of his life he died leaving Solomon as his successor. Before his death one of his sons named Adonijah tried to become the king of Israel. 

He was very proud due to his good looks. As his father was ill he wanted to take the advantage but after knowing his intentions Nathan and Bethshebha warned the ruler and he quickly made Solomon as the king of Israel. He died in Jerusalem and was buried in the city of David.

1 Kings 1:30

 I will surely carry out this very day what I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel: Solomon your son shall be king after me, and he will sit on my throne in my place.”

1 Kings 2:1

When the time drew near for David to die, he gave a charge to Solomon his son.

1 Kings 2:10

Then David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David.

Conclusion

David who was the second king of Israel after Saul has a great impact on our lives. His life gives a lesson to always be loyal to God, bravery and if did some sins then admit it and quickly repent.

He was a shepherd but ended up as the ruler of Israel. His bravery was of next level as he defeated a big man  with a stone when he was very young. While he had a rivalry with Saul but his relation with Jonathan never got compromised. 

2 Samuel 2:4

Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and there they anointed David king over the tribe of Judah. When David was told that it was the men from Jabesh Gilead who had buried Saul,

2 Samuel 5:3-4

When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel. David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.

2 Samuel 5:10

And he became more and more powerful, because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

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