JUL 31

1 Samuel 7
Memorise 1 Chronicles 22:19
“it was in my mind to build a house unto the name of the LORD my God”

One unique distinction that stood out in the life of David is that God described him as ‘a man after God’s own heart’. It is interesting to note that when God uttered those words through the prophet Samuel to King Saul, “the Lord hath sought him a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14), it was actually years before David himself was born. Yet at the time, God had already chosen him to be the next king over Israel. This description of David, henceforth, became a benchmark of sorts for the succession of the Kings of Judah that was to follow, for it was against the heart and deeds of David that they were measured. In the description of many of the Kings, variations of the phrase ‘did (or did not) that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father’, or ‘his heart was (or was not) perfect with the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father’ is repeated over and over again as a way to summarise the quality of each king’s reign.

What is it about David’s life and conduct that made him so special? What qualities or traits that made him stand apart from other men and granted him this special mention? There are many admirable things about David’s relationship with God and how he had such a love for Him. His concern was always for the glory of God, as seen in his battle against Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Through the many Psalms he wrote, we see a man who loved God’s Word and constantly sought after it. Even when he sinned, he was sensitive to rebuke, and always quick to repent (2 Samuel 12, Psalm 51).

Perhaps one other example of David’s love for God that is sometimes overlooked was his earnest desire to build a house for the Lord. It troubled him to see that the ark of God was housed in tents, whilst he had a palace of cedar. Even though God denied his request and designated his son, Solomon, to be the one to build God’s house instead, that did not in any way temper his desire for God’s house to be a glorious one. So while he could not be involved in the actual building, he threw his whole heart into the preparation for it, such that before he died, he had amassed a huge store of wealth that he gave to Solomon, and exhorted him to build a glorious house for God.

Thought: Do I care about the house of the Lord?
Prayer: O Lord help me learn from the life of David, to be a man/woman after Thine own heart.