David’s Beloved

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

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David was the greatest king of Israel, and he is called the man after God’s own heart. Everyone admires David, but actually, David had many weaknesses, just like you and me. David had similar weaknesses that we in our humanity have, but David had one thing which we don’t have, he treasured the Lord in his heart, God was David’s beloved.

I. David’s Human Weaknesses

1. During times of great peril, David lied

1Samuel 21 records David’s escape from Saul as the latter sought to kill him. He went to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. When the priest asked him why he was alone, in verse 2, David answered Ahimelech the priest, “The king charged me with a certain matter and said to me, ‘No one is to know anything about your mission and your instructions.’ As for my men, I have told them to meet me at a certain place.” This was an outright lie. Later on, he told the priest, “Don’t you have a spear or a sword here? I haven’t brought my sword or any other weapon, because the king’s business was urgent.” And the priest gave him Goliath’s sword. David lied again. During that time of great peril, David lied twice. When we encounter difficult situations, we quickly resort to lying to evade any liability. We are truly weak sinners. We are experts in lying, David was so, and we are just like him.

2. During times of danger, David feared

Do not think that David was brave, that he feared nothing on earth or in heaven. David was as weak as we are. In 1Samuel 21, when David arrived at Gath, the Philistines immediately recognized him as the one who killed Goliath. When David heard them speaking of him, he became very much afraid. David pretended to be insane in their presence. He acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard; and so he was driven away. David behaved that way because of fear. Jesus said do not be afraid, only have faith. Fear and faith cannot go together. Fear dissipates when there is faith, and faith dissolves when fear comes in. David became afraid because he lost faith, how about us? In the face of difficulties, illness, or financial pressures, do we become afraid? I tell you, when faced with danger, even I, a pastor, become afraid too.

3. During times of temptation, David sinned

We all know the story of David and Bathsheba. David, because of Bathsheba, broke three of the Ten Commandments – the 6th: You shall not murder; the 7th: You shall not commit adultery; and the 8th: You shall not steal. How about us? A famous pastor related his own testimony. One day, his wife asked him to bring in the clothes she had hung on the clothesline out in the yard. While he was out there, he suddenly noticed that the woman next door was taking a bath. He said he stood there and watched for about ten minutes. Remember, he was a pastor. Later on, this pastor said he felt very convicted in his heart, and he shared this struggle with his small group when they met. He was surprised to find out that every one of the men in his group had the same struggle as he did. If every man has this similar struggle, and if one day, you encounter the same temptation David did, what would you do? Will you be able to overcome it?

David was a man just like us: In times of peril, he lied; in times of danger, he feared; in times of temptation, he sinned. However, David treasured the Lord in his heart because David loved God!

II. David Treasured the Lord in His Heart

David is called the king after God’s own heart, because he treasured the Lord in his heart, because God was his beloved. David’s love for God is something we all need to emulate, especially today, as a number of brothers and sisters undergo baptism, I pray that you will all treasure the Lord in your heart, may the Lord become your beloved:

1. David Challenged Goliath in the Name of the Lord

With regards to the threat of Goliath, David responded differently from all the other men. 1Samuel 17:25 “Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.”In verse 26, David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

Verse 25 reveals the people’s motivation in fighting Goliath – whoever kills him will be given great wealth, and the king’s daughter; his family will also be exempted from paying taxes. Verse 26 is David’s motivation. He wanted to remove the disgrace from Israel, because the man was defying the armies of the living God. David challenged Goliath in the name of the Lord. God is David’s beloved. He could not stand to hear anyone scorn the name of God. What will you do when you hear others speak evil of someone you truly love? Will you remain silent? If so, you must not love the person at all, you must not treasure him in your heart, for it seems your attitude is `what does it have to do with me if others speak bad things about him?’ On the contrary, if you are displeased and want to stand up and defend him, it proves that you really love him. This is a simple principle, if people often speak badly of your child, will you be happy? Even if your child is really naughty, you will still be displeased because you treasure your child. Is God your beloved? When you hear others disgrace God, disgrace the church of God, do you become angry?

2. After Uniting the Nation, David Immediately Thought of the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant

After Saul died, 2Samuel2 records that David was anointed king over Judah in Hebron. According to chapter 5, David ruled 7 years over Judah before he united the whole nation and he reigned a total of 33 years as king of Israel. When David became king of the whole nation, the first thing he thought was to bring back the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. Suddenly I understood the stark difference between Saul and David. Saul was king for 40 years, yet he never showed concern for the ark’s whereabouts. In Saul’s heart, the throne was the most important thing. Although he had once built an altar and prayed to the Lord, his prayer and altar-building was done only because he wanted to hold on to his throne, not because he longed for God. In his heart, Saul did not love God.

Liking and loving are two different matters. Liking does not necessarily involve any cost or sacrifice, but love definitely entails a cost or sacrifice. A man may like many women, but he only can love one woman, because love and like are totally different. Many men encounter problems in their marriages all because they do not understand what like is and what love is. Love and like are completely different because of one element – that is, commitment. When you love someone, you will make sacrifices. Some men like to watch TV and as they do, they hold on to the remote control. When they feel like switching channels, they simply change it. They don’t feel anything nor have any commitment towards the programs. They can switch channels according to their liking. They don’t love the TV programs at all, they only like them. This was Saul’s heart condition with regards to the Lord. Saul did not love the Lord, he only liked the Lord. During the latter period of Saul’s life, he sought a medium for advice, Saul switched channel – from the Lord, he turned to a witch. Saul treasured only the throne in his heart, not the Lord.

In contrast to Saul, David, after uniting the nation, immediately sent thirty thousand men to bring up the Ark of God from the house of Abinadab to Jerusalem. David treasured the Lord and God was his beloved. No matter what David encountered, he steadfastly held on to the Lord. Even after he sinned, he prayed to the Lord: Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. David wasn’t afraid of anything but of the Holy Spirit being taken from him, he only feared being unable to see God. That is why David was willing to openly confess his sin, by writing Psalm 51. The subheading for Psalm 51 says: `A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him after David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he wrote this psalm and gave it to the director of music.’ David wrote down his embarrassing experience, and gave it to the director of music to be sung. Do you see how great a man David was? He was not concerned about losing face. Let me ask you, is there anything more important than a man’s face? The Chinese say: A man needs his face as trees need their bark. A man’s face is very important. But in David’s heart, there was something more important than his face – his God. For the Lord, he was willing to lose face. David is called the king after God’s own heart because God was his beloved.

3. Once David Settled in a Palace, He Immediately Thought of Building the Lord’s Temple

2 Samuel 7:1-2 “After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said to Nathan the prophet, `Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.’” What David meant was that he wanted to build the Lord a temple. `I live in a palace, while my beloved lives in a tent, this should not be!’ May the Lord forgive us, for all of us are concerned only about our own houses and not the Lord’s. From his youth to his old age, David treasured the Lord in his heart. David had sinned, David had fallen, but David never forsook his God, because David did not just like the Lord, he loved the Lord. Because he loved the Lord, he made sacrifices for the Lord. 1Kings 29:2-4 “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God – gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble – all of these in large quantities. Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple: three thousand talents of gold and seven thousand talents of refined silver, for the overlaying of the walls of the buildings.”

David meant he had done his best when he said with all his resources he offered everything to the Lord. Three thousand talents of gold (110 tons) is equivalent to 30 million US dollars, while 7000 talents of silver (240 tons) is 3.3 billion US dollars. This is truly an astronomical figure! David loved the Lord, he offered the Lord all his resources. I use one word to describe David – crazy. David was really crazy for the Lord. The late president of the Chinese Theological School, Rev. Timothy Lim, who passed away at the age of 98, once said, “The Church does not need more doctoral or masteral degree graduates, but more martyrs.” Some people love the Lord and give up their lives for Him, how about us? Do you love the Lord? Is God your beloved?