“Then You spoke to Your faithful ones in a vision and said, “I have conferred power upon a warrior; I have exalted one chosen out of the people. I have found David, My servant; anointed him with My sacred oil. My hand shall be constantly with him, and My arm shall strengthen him. No enemy shall oppress him, no vile man afflict him. I will crush his adversaries before him; I will strike down those who hate him. My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; his horn shall be exalted through My name.” “I will not take away My steadfast love from him; I will not betray My faithfulness. I will not violate My covenant, or change what I have uttered. I have sworn by My holiness, once and for all; I will not be false to David. His line shall continue forever, his throne, as the sun before Me, as the moon, established forever, an enduring witness in the sky.”” (Psalms 89:20-25, 34-38, Tanakh)
There is no question that God chose David, and he offers no explanation for his choice. This passage of scripture describes his choice of David and also prophetically speaks about the coming of Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah. God proclaims he will anoint David with “sacred oil”, “strengthen him”, and maintain a “steadfast love” for him! God also declares that he ‘will not violate his covenant or change what he has uttered.’
So, who was David and what made him special? It certainly wasn’t his family heritage. His great-great-grandmother was a prostitute, his great-grandmother was a Moabite, and David himself passed on this seemingly faulty lineage though Solomon, whose mother was the wife of Uriah (Matthew 1:5-6). David was human, and humans sin. “For there isn’t a righteous person on earth who does [only] good and never sins.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20) So, what made David special? God saw something in David that humans cannot see. “…For not as man sees [does the Lord see]; man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart.” (I Samuel 16:7, Tanakh) Humans can only make assessments about another person based on what they see while God sees a person’s heart and motives. This is true of David.
Psalms is filled with praise, adoration and worship of God. There are too many examples to list here, although Psalms 16 describes how David felt about God. “Protect me, O God, for I seek refuge in You. I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord, my benefactor; there is none above You.” (scripture note: “I have no good but in You.”)” “The Lord is my allotted share and portion; You control my fate. Delightful country has fallen to my lot; lovely indeed is my estate. I bless the Lord who has guided me; my conscience admonishes me at night. I am ever mindful of the Lord’s presence; He is at my right hand; I shall never be shaken. So my heart rejoices, my whole being exults, and my body rests secure.” (Psalms 16:1-2, 5-9, Tanakh)
It’s clear after reading Psalms that David cried out to God at all times – both the good and bad times. That is exactly what God wants. David cried out and trusted God to comfort him, deliver him from his enemies, and forgive him. He also praised and rejoiced for no other reason than he is God and David loved him. “Hallelujah. It is good to chant hymns to our God; it is pleasant to sing glorious praise. The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; He gathers in the exiles of Israel. He heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds. He reckoned the number of the stars; to each He gave its name. Great is our Lord and full of power; His wisdom is beyond reckoning.” (Psalms 147:1-5, Tanakh)
David hated his sin, although he did not let sin become a barrier in his relationship with God. He repented, sought forgiveness, and continued to love God. This is borne out in the final verses of II Samuel. After David sinned by commissioning a census, Israel endured a pestilence which claimed 70,000 lives. Then, “Gad came to David the same day and said to him, “Go and set up an alter to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”” (II Samuel 24:18, Tanakh) Araunah (Ornan) offered to give David the threshing floor, oxen and their gear, but David would not accept his offer. “But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I will buy them from you at a price. I cannot sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that have cost me nothing.”…” (II Samuel 24:24, Tanakh)
I don’t want this important point to be missed. 70,000 lives were lost because of David’s sin, and David still held God in absolute reverence. David constructed the alter and continued in his loving relationship with God. David, in the eyes of the world, was nothing special. He came from a dubious heritage and struggled with sin, but God was everything to him. Heaven is filled with ordinary people who love God and desperately wanted to do the right thing but failed miserably, and in some cases, often. God sees the heart.
*All scripture is from the Complete Jewish Bible unless noted otherwise. Some names in the Complete Jewish Bible have been translated to English.