The Great King David

David was a legend in Israel; no wonder the Israelites expected his reincarnation in the Messiah.

A lot of attention is given to David throughout the Bible and 1 Chronicles is almost exclusively about David. Although much of this is repeated from 1&2 Kings, it made me stop to think about the importance of David. When Jesus came as the Messiah, the Jews were expecting another David, this legendary man of war whom they had read so much about. They expected Jesus to battle the Romans the way David had battled the Philistines and usher in the age of peace of prosperity that followed with Solomon. When Jesus turned out to have a different agenda, they rejected Him. David was a great leader and on fire for God, but there are 2 points that must be made. In Chronicles, we learn the David was denied the right to build God's Temple because he was violent. This proves that even though God loved David and even though he truly repented when he committed sins, David's militaristic campaigns which left the earth defiled with blood, defiled David too. He wasn't good enough to build the Temple because he'd participated in too much violence. The second thing we notice is that Jesus does not come the way David did. Jesus carried out His mission in peace, like Solomon, and stayed away from battle. Together, this gives us that God prefers peace and reasoning as we follow Him as opposed to military campaigns in His name. Of course Ecclesiastes does tell us that there is a time for everything. On many occasions, war was necessary and in David's case he had to secure Israel for Solomon to have a peaceful reign in which to build the Temple. This is why David is not condemned for his actions. We live in an imperfect world, so sometimes, the best option for us is still ugly.
Top

References