Biblical name of David: Δαυὶδ, Δαβίδ, Δαυΐδ, Δαυείδ, Δαυίδης Modern: Δαβίδ (David)
What qualities made him a man after God’s own heart? How can we worship like David? 1.
- David’s faith in God
- David’s trust in God
- David’s love for God and others
- David’s humility
- David’s integrity
- David forgives
- David worships God
David was a broken worshiper. He was a focused worshiper. He was a passionate worshiper.
David was a man after God's own heart. Why? David's faith in God, trust in God, love for God and others. David's humility, integrity, forgiveness of others, and worship of God. Click To Tweet“A Timeline of King David’s Life or ‘How old was David when…?’2.
“How old was David when he killed Goliath?
“This is one of the many events in David’s life which include hints at his age, but no more.
“We do not know how old David was when he killed Goliath; the clearest detail we know about his age is in this verse:
“And when the Philistine looked and saw David,
he disdained him, for he was but a youth,
ruddy and handsome in appearance.”
“David’s three oldest brothers fought in Saul’s army, but David, the youngest of eight, looked after the family sheep (1 Samuel 17:14-15). This is another hint about his age.
“Sometimes we can find extra hints in the original language of a passage. However, the Hebrew word translated “youth” can mean any age from infant to young man, so that’s no help.
“This lack of detailed dates or ages is typical and makes it hard to create a timeline of King David’s life.
Dates and ages
“In all of the many details of David’s life recorded in the Bible, his age is only given once – when he was made king over Judah after the death of King Saul:
“David was thirty years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned forty years.
At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months (part of the 40 years)
and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years (another part of the 40 years).”
“Since King David was 30 when he became king and reigned 40 years, we can see that he was about 70 when he died.
David’s early life
“We are told about many events that happened before he became king, and many that followed his coronation, but we are never given enough information to make us certain exactly when things happened. For example, we do not know how old he was when Solomon was born.
“Not only so, but there is evidence that some of the events before he became king are not in chronological order.
“Oh, no!” I hear you say. “This is sounding like the chronology of Jeremiah!”
“Relax, it’s not that mixed up!
“However, when David was taken to Saul and Abner the commander of the army after he killed Goliath (see 1 Samuel 17), neither of them knew him. Not only so, but the proof David gave of his experience in fighting described fighting lions and bears, not men.
“Even when Saul and Abner hear that he is the son of Jesse, no hint of recognition appears, yet in 1 Samuel 16 when Saul is looking for a musician, David the son of Jesse is recommended to him as a man of valour and a man of war. David had already fallen in love with Saul’s daughter Michal, and she fell in love with David.
In I Samuel 18 King Saul dared David to bring him “a hundred Philistine foreskins” in order to marry his daughter, Michal. David, without hesitation, carried out this challenge successfully: “David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines.
“The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14, NKJV). The second time was by the Apostle Paul who recounted Israel’s history, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Ac. 13:22).
“David’s life was full of unexpected events to which he RESPONDED WITH UNUSUAL FAITH. He fought lions and giants, escaped the flying javelins of a mad king, and safely led a force of hundreds of outlaws through wild areas for several years – even leading them into service under a foreign king. David spent more than a year in the land of the Philistines, and when he left to return to Judah as king, hundreds of foreigners followed him. Later, he conquered the impregnable fortress of Jerusalem and made it his capital. Through his leadership – and despite a moral lapse that earned God’s punishment in the form of family difficulties that dogged the remainder of his reign – David ushered in a time of greatness for the kingdom of Israel that has never been equalled since.”
Some re-ordering required?
“If you wonder how it might fit together, try reading the passages in the order below:
- 1 Samuel 16:1-13, Samuel anoints David to be king.
- 1 Samuel 17:1-54, David fights Goliath
- 1 Samuel 17:55-18:4, is partly a summary of David’s confrontation with Goliath and partly new information
- 1 Samuel 16:14-23, David called to help Saul through music, and Saul loved him greatly.
- 1 Samuel 16, David had already fallen in love with Saul’s daughter Michal.
- 1 Samuel 18:5-30, David as an army leader and national hero which causes Saul to hate him
“Sometime, I may write another post about the ordering of events in David’s life. For the moment, though, we’ll just observe that some of the recorded events may not be in chronological order.
A timeline of King David’s life
“The timeline below shows some of the events of David’s life and you are free to use it as you choose. It is also available in Powerpoint format with embedded fonts – just ask through the Contact Us page.3.”
Archeological Evidence of King David
There are many tales of David’s life and the significance of his faith and his obedience. But, he was not a mythical figure. He was a real man, and because of these qualities in his life, God chose his lineage for Messiah.
Many said that David was a mythical figure, until archeologists began to find evidence that he really existed. Read The Tel Dan Inscription: The First Historical Evidence of King David from the Bible.4
The Tel Dan Stele is a fragmentary stele containing a Canaanite inscription which dates to the 9th century BCE. It is notable for possibly being the most significant and perhaps the only extra-biblical archeological reference to the house of David. The Tel Dan inscription, or “House of David” inscription, was discovered in 1993 at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel in an excavation directed by Israeli …
See the inscription of David’s name engraved in the lower right-hand side. It says “House of David,” positive evidence of King David’s dynasty outside of the Bible.5.
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Sources:
- https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/undignified-how-we-can-worship-god-like-david-did.html
- https://www.bibletales.online/timeline-of-davids-life/
- https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story/
- https://www.jesuswalk.com/david/chronology-of-david.htm
- https://waynestiles.com/blog/tel-dan-stele-providential-ironies-in-favor-of-king-david
I’m glad God gives us specific dates on some things and other things He gives general information. Throughout the Bible, we are able to learn from people such as David. The life experiences of others helps us to remember to lean on God and not self.
Have a blessed day! 🙂
Well said, Melissa. Without specific dates, readers of God’s Word from every era can learn the lessons that God intends us to learn. David isn’t the only one who zealously loves the Lord and seeks Him. We also are on that journey.
What a great study, Melinda. David is a pivotal character in history. Thanks for all your good work. God bless!
Thanks, Nancy! I have loved this Old Testament journey that the Lord has been leading me through once more. It’s good to revisit what I studied so long ago.
I love how you begin this: David was a “broken worshiper… a focused worshiper… a passionate worshiper.” He was ALL of these. So many times, we think we can’t be X and Y simultaneously. We can’t be depressed AND fun. We can’t be smart AND silly. We can’t be broken AND redeemed. And yet we can! David is such a great example for us in this! Great message, and thank you!
I love how you worded all of this, Jessica. His actions give us space to also be “broken,” “focused,” and “passionate” in our own walk with the Lord. Thankfully, we can indeed be broken and yet redeemed. That is why Jesus came.
I love David’s story, true story. It is so rich with human experiences and emotions and, of course, faith, commitment, and worship. It’s really cool that the archeological find mentions the house of David because Jesus comes from his lineage.
I love that, too, Stephen. The house of David is significant exactly because Jesus is from David’s lineage. Isn’t it incredible what God can do!
I love your post today Melinda. In Israel recently, we visited the place where David fought Goliath and we visited En Gedi where David hid in the caves to escape Saul’s wrath. It made me appreciate how special this man was and a man after God’s own heart.
Wow, Yvonne! How I would love to have seen what you saw on your journey! These real events still impact us today. I’m glad you could be in these places!
Extrabiblical evidence for the events of the Bible influenced my decision for Christ in my young twenties. David has always given me hope that even one such as myself could have a heart after God, even though my soul felt tarnished, even unable to be redeemed. Thank you for your detailed study; I always learn much from your blogs!
The fact that the sins and mistakes of David are shared with us in the Bible in addition to his successes and wise choices. As a result, so many of us can relate to David in so many ways. Even if our souls feel tarnished, and even if we feel like we’re unable to be redeemed, there is David, a sinner, and yet a man who pursued the Lord all his life, and who is recognized as a man after God’s own heart. Sounds like you. Sounds like me, too, Candice.
Melinda, I related to the thought of David as a “broken worshiper.” There are times in my life when I was so broken over a traumatic circumstance or experience, all I could do was cry out to the Lord barely able to speak. Being in His presence became the safe haven I needed to survive. I also liked how you note David responded to unexpected events with unusual faith. A great example for us today, when the unexpected happens, we need unusual faith more than ever! Thanks for these timelines on David’s life.
It’s been a blessing to dig into David’s life again. I studied this intensively earlier in my life, during my thirties, I think. David’s life, and the lessons he learned as a sinner just like us, is so inspirational and in so many ways it offers us encouragement to pursue the Lord like he did.