Personal Reflection: David
Here is a question for you and me. What would have been like to be part of the family of David, man after God’s own heart, King of Israel, warrior, conqueror, sinner, Builder of a nation(with the help of God)? You could probably go on and on about how much this man had done and the accomplishments that seemed to just keep coming and coming. How would you as one son or one daughter have fit into his busy life? Did he have time for his family or was that just left to the servants and many wives to figure out. We do know that he had many relationships and there by many children. The Bible mentions many of them when it became time for the choice for the next King of Israel.
So where does that put one child over the other. How do you handle all of the duties of being a father? We do know that he cared about each child because in Scriptures we are told that he was very concerned about each child. Here are some examples:
1. He mourned heavily after the death of the first child that Bathsheba bore him.
2. He was concerned that nothing happened to Absalom when he was trying to heavy hand the kingdom from him.
3. He cared enough about his relationship with his friend Jonathon to make sure that his son the only one left, was taken care of. And, quite simply that was not his child.
4. He mourned the loss of his children when Absalom was killing the boys that could take over his kingdom.
I am sure that there are many more instances that you could name. So, what do we think of David as a father? How would it have been to be a son or a daughter? Would he have spent the time to get to know you as an individual? Would he or could he really love all of those children? I guess we will never really know about that.
We do know that the son that was chosen to follow him on the throne was a good choice. Solomon did make some good decisions. Asking for wisdom is one of the greatest stories of the Bible. But, what about leaving God for a time? That was something that David his father had never done. That discussion is for another day. We need to finish about David. The questions are all there and we will probably never really know about the life in the household of David. We can draw some conclusions and here they are:
1. David loved the Lord with all his heart.
2. David was a sinner and knew it, because God pointed it out.
3. David was the best King, Israel ever had.
4. David was fearless, except when he crossed paths with God in his bad times.
5. David probably knew more about his family than was revealed.
6. David loved his children and wives.
So, in conclusion, let us live our lives like David. The story was put in the Bible, not just because of the kingship, but because of the love that was shown to him by the Lord and the love that he, David, returned. May we as Christians always find our way to trust in the Lord with all of our hearts, even when we know that we are all sinners and need to have that guidance from the Father in Heaven.
Ray Berg
is a friend to all, husband to one, father to two and hopefully on the right road with the Father in Heaven.
Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 9, 2 Chronicles 8
This Bible reading plan explores The Word based on the chronological order in which it was written, and is unrelated to the daily character devotions.
The Word of Promise audio Bible is used by permission. For more information and to purchase the complete audio Bible go to https://www.wordofpromiseapp.com/.
1 Kings 9
God’s Second Appearance to Solomon
1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king’s house, and all Solomon’s desire which he wanted to do, 2 that the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as He had appeared to him at Gibeon. 3 And the Lord said to him: “I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 4 Now if you walk before Me as your father David walked, in integrity of heart and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, 5 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom over Israel forever, as I promised David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.’ 6 But if you or your sons at all turn from following Me, and do not keep My commandments and My statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods and worship them, 7 then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them; and this house which I have consecrated for My name I will cast out of My sight. Israel will be a proverb and a byword among all peoples. 8 And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and will hiss, and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ 9 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord their God, who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore the Lord has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”
Solomon and Hiram Exchange Gifts
10 Now it happened at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the Lord and the king’s house 11 (Hiram the king of Tyre had supplied Solomon with cedar and cypress and gold, as much as he desired), that King Solomon then gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. 12 Then Hiram went from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him, but they did not please him. 13 So he said, “What kind of cities are these which you have given me, my brother?” And he called them the land of Cabul, as they are to this day. 14 Then Hiram sent the king one hundred and twenty talents of gold.
Solomon’s Additional Achievements
15 And this is the reason for the labor force which King Solomon raised: to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer. 16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up and taken Gezer and burned it with fire, had killed the Canaanites who dwelt in the city, and had given it as a dowry to his daughter, Solomon’s wife.) 17 And Solomon built Gezer, Lower Beth Horon, 18 Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land of Judah, 19 all the storage cities that Solomon had, cities for his chariots and cities for his cavalry, and whatever Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
20 All the people who were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of the children of Israel— 21 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel had not been able to destroy completely—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. 22 But of the children of Israel Solomon made no forced laborers, because they were men of war and his servants: his officers, his captains, commanders of his chariots, and his cavalry.
23 Others were chiefs of the officials who were over Solomon’s work: five hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people who did the work.
24 But Pharaoh’s daughter came up from the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
25 Now three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar which he had built for the Lord, and he burned incense with them on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the temple.
26 King Solomon also built a fleet of ships at Ezion Geber, which is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 Then Hiram sent his servants with the fleet, seamen who knew the sea, to work with the servants of Solomon. 28 And they went to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and twenty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.
2 Chronicles 8
Solomon’s Additional Achievements
1 It came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the house of the Lord and his own house, 2 that the cities which Hiram had given to Solomon, Solomon built them; and he settled the children of Israel there. 3 And Solomon went to Hamath Zobah and seized it. 4 He also built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the storage cities which he built in Hamath. 5 He built Upper Beth Horon and Lower Beth Horon, fortified cities with walls, gates, and bars, 6 also Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities and the cities of the cavalry, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
7 All the people who were left of the Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, who were not of Israel— 8 that is, their descendants who were left in the land after them, whom the children of Israel did not destroy—from these Solomon raised forced labor, as it is to this day. 9 But Solomon did not make the children of Israel servants for his work. Some were men of war, captains of his officers, captains of his chariots, and his cavalry. 10 And others were chiefs of the officials of King Solomon: two hundred and fifty, who ruled over the people.
11 Now Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, “My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the Lord has come are holy.”
12 Then Solomon offered burnt offerings to the Lord on the altar of the Lord which he had built before the vestibule, 13 according to the daily rate, offering according to the commandment of Moses, for the Sabbaths, the New Moons, and the three appointed yearly feasts—the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles. 14 And, according to the order of David his father, he appointed the divisions of the priests for their service, the Levites for their duties (to praise and serve before the priests) as the duty of each day required, and the gatekeepers by their divisions at each gate; for so David the man of God had commanded. 15 They did not depart from the command of the king to the priests and Levites concerning any matter or concerning the treasuries.
16 Now all the work of Solomon was well-ordered from the day of the foundation of the house of the Lord until it was finished. So the house of the Lord was completed.
17 Then Solomon went to Ezion Geber and Elath on the seacoast, in the land of Edom. 18 And Hiram sent him ships by the hand of his servants, and servants who knew the sea. They went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and acquired four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon.