David: Chasing the Heart of God

His is the longest and most complete account of an individual life in the Old Testament. His story consumes more than half of 1 Samuel, all of 2 Samuel, and bleeds over into 1 Kings. 1 Chron 11–29 also tells his story. Leaving aside the Psalms he penned, his story alone spans 57 chapters of the Old Testament. But David’s centrality to the biblical witness transcends statistics. David, taking over for the disastrous first King Saul, is presented as the model against whom all other Israelite kings were measured. He forged Israel into a nation. He captured Jerusalem and then moved the ark of the covenant there, making Jerusalem the political and religious ground zero of Israel. And, most significantly for Christians, David received God’s promise that one of His descendants would forever reign as king (2 Sam 7; see also Ps 89 and 132); this promise was the seed from which the rose of messianic hope later bloomed.

Because the scripture records David’s life from the time of his youth (1 Sam 16–17), through his tumultuous rise to the throne (1 Sam 18–2 Sam 5), through his various triumphs and failures (2 Sam 6–24), until his death (1 Kings 1–2), we cover a broader span of his life than any other figure in the Bible. We will consider not only the individual stories about David, but also the larger biblical narrative. This narrative speaks to our full, lifetime experience of faith. We will see the early stages of David’s faith and the sense of calling, future, and purpose. We will see the long middle stages of his faith journey, explore the highs and lows of accomplishment, trial, tragedy, boredom, and comfort. We will see the long-term consequences of a person’s actions and choices. And we will see the later stages of his faith journey, when complacency sets in and death draws near. We will see it all, with the goal of being drawn near the heart of God ourselves, through the sacrificial death of the Son of David, the Messiah. So, we will look at David to see ourselves, and the Son of David to see God’s redemption.

We invite you to join us in this journey and bring a friend or two along with you.

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