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In today’s post I’ll talk about the heart of David. This is the final post on The Character of David. Read the intro, the good, and the bad.
“…the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
I Samuel 16:7
David messed up big time in his life, more than once. He also had some wonderful victories. But we always see David in both circumstances with a humble heart. When he was victorious, he gave God the credit; when he messed up, he cried for help.
I think by studying the life of David, we can see the power of God’s grace for a Christian’s heart. To humbly seek God means searching for Him in the darkness, living out God’s plan for your life, asking for forgiveness, and following your shepherd wherever he leads.
WAS DAVID HUMBLE?
I’ll admit, “humble” is not the first word that comes to mind when thinking about the heart of David. The great warrior king who killed tens of thousands, had any woman he wanted (wife or concubine), and whose name was known throughout all of Israel and Judah — he’s humble? Or the young man who challenged and defeated a giant — is that humility?
But I’ve come to believe it’s not our actions that show if we are humble, but the position of our hearts. A humble person who puts their trust and faith in God can step out and do bold things. Conversely, a shy quiet person may not be humble, but simply scared.
On more than one occasion, we read David saying, “Who am I?” Once is when Saul was offering David his daughter in marriage (I Samuel 18;18, 23). And another time was after God made a covenant with him (2 Samuel 7:18). Even as a king, David refers to himself as a servant!
A HUMBLE HEART SEES GOD
We read over and over again David giving God the credit for his victories. David went from taking care of sheep to leading an entire nation. It would be easy for any person to take the credit for this rise in status. But we don’t hear David saying how great he is. Instead, he continually refers to himself as a servant, even a dead dog and a flea (1 Samuel 24:14).
We see the heart of David as he gives the glory to God in all things. 2 Samuel 22 is a song of praise from David to God. The whole chapter is worth reading, but here is a short quote:
For You are my lamp, O Lord;
The Lord shall enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can run against a troop;
By my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
2 Samuel 22:229-31
With God’s strength David can run against a troop and leap over a wall. In many psalms, David claims the Lord as his deliverer, refuge, strength, shepherd. Was there any other king so great, yet so humble?
A HUMBLE HEART ACCEPTS GOD’S PLAN
After David has become king, he takes in his nice palace of cedars, and he’s dismayed that God’s presence is dwelling in a tent. He determines that he is to build a house for God. But God says no to David (2 Samuel 7).
The funny thing about God saying no is that He actually has something better in mind for David. Has that happened to you before, God says no to one thing but something else way better happened instead?
Instead of David building God a house, God sets up David’s house – a throne that will last forever. You can read the very important covenant God makes to David in 2 Samuel 7:12-16. The reason this covenant is important is that it points to Jesus, the seed of David (Romans 1:3).
David was anointed by God to be king, but not to build the temple. And David was ok with God’s plan instead of his own. After God says no to David, instead of continuing with his plan anyway, what does David do? He praises God! Only a humble heart can accept God’s will over their own and respond with: “You are great, O Lord God. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You” (2 Samuel 7:22).
A HUMBLE HEART RECEIVES GOD’S FORGIVENESS
A humble heart recognizes sin and then turns away from it. Conversely, a proud heart refuses to admit any wrongdoing.
When King Saul was confronted with how he disobeyed God — twice — he tries to justify his behavior (I Samuel 13:11-24; I Samuel 15:15). Consequently, God’s Spirit left Saul and he was tormented often.
David, on the other hand, was confronted with his sin and he immediately was grief stricken: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Samuel 12:13). Once David faced his sins, he begged for forgiveness and a clean heart (Psalm 51). He knew he had done wrong and he wanted to make it right.
Do you know how to have a clean heart? You move on. David asked for forgiveness and once the punishment was final (the death of his son), David continued forward, without dwelling in the past.
To accept forgiveness is to relieve yourself of the weight of sin “that so easily ensnares us” (Hebrews 12:1). To continue in guilt, shame, and regret is never good for the soul.
The story of Judas is so sad to me. David and Judas were both responsible for a person’s death, but the way they handled the negative emotions afterward was different. David asked for, and received, the “aggressive forgiveness” that is grace; Judas could not even forgive himself and took his own life.
Pridefulness can stop us from confessing wrongdoing, but humility allows us to ask for and accept God’s grace.
A HUMBLE HEART WILL BE EXALTED
We can see the heart of David as he often inquired of the Lord before he took action. He prayerfully hid and fled around the mountains, consulting God at each step along the way.
Psalm 23, written by David, is a song of praise and thanksgiving to God for being a good shepherd. David is claiming to be a sheep, an animal that needs protection, shelter, and food provided by someone other than itself. The sometimes dumb and stubborn sheep need constant guidance and supervision, and David is saying the Lord gives him everything he needs.
He was humble no matter his station in life. He gave god the glory for the good, he confessed and repented for the bad. David saw no reason to exalt himself, but God did it for him.
So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.
2 Samuel 5:10
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
- God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). Paraphrase this verse. How would you apply this verse to the life of David? What about King Saul and Judas?
- Read the verses directly after verse six (James 4:7-10). How can you resist the devil today? How can you draw near to God? What does this have to do with humility?
- David was offered great things and responded with “Who am I?” Do you do the same? When you’re offered a great thing, do you snatch it up because you feel so deserving? Or do you reply with “Who am I?”
- Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time (I Peter 5:6). Find more Bible verses that relate to the humble vs the proud. How has pride stopped you from serving God or others?
- Do you need to ask forgiveness for something that has been covering your heart in guilt? Or something you’ve ignored (as David ignored his adultery and conspiracy for a year)? Use Psalm 51:1-2 as a start to your prayer asking for forgiveness:
Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
“Here is the essential element of being a person after God’s own heart. Give your heart completely to being His person. Dedicate your life to walking in His presence. Train your eyes to notice His fingerprints. Make His love the focus of your whole being. Devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God. He promises you will find Him.”
-Casandra Martin, Echoing His Heartbeat, The Life of David
I just want you to know that you wrote an excellent piece on pointing out Bible verses that demonstrates the dangers of pride, the importance of having a humble heart and what can happen when you don’t forgive yourself. Thank you so much for writing this.
Thank you so much for reading and encouraging me!
I am really blessed with this teaching. It’s very expository and helpful.
I am curious how you gloss over so easily how many women and servants David was sexually active with. You did mention that David was extremely successful in battle and with the ladies (wives and concubines). But you do not treat his excessive sexual indulgence as apposed to God’s design. Instead you say,
“A humble heart recognizes sin and then turns away from it. Conversely, a proud heart refuses to admit any wrongdoing.”
Just because the culture, in which most other men had one wife (Uriah, et. all), a rich man could have many, does not mean it wasn’t sinful or indulgent. In fact Deut. 17:17 strictly forbade this behavior so he was in violation of the Hebrew law and therefore in sin.
Did he humbly seek God’s direction before each new concubine was brought to his chamber for his pleasure?
Did he ever repent of those sins?
Did his humble heart confess and turn away from excessive concubinage?
Your exposition of his character does not line up with his sexual indulgence.
He did repent of Rape and Murder, although that was only when he was accused by Nathan.
Do you believe his character was repentant of his other sins that were forbidden by the Hebrew law? Or, just the big ones?
Thank you for your comments. This post is one of a series I wrote, and this one outlines what it looks like to be a person after God’s own heart, as David is called. What does that mean? How is David called that even with all that he had done? I hope this doesn’t look like I’m saying David was perfect. I highlighted the times when he was connected to God, as we see through the many Psalms showing his connection to God. No, he didn’t live perfectly and David should not be someone we idolize. But we can learn from the conversations he had with God.