The Life Of King David
Retold by Eric Elder
I’d like to tell you a story tonight about a man who was born right here in Bethlehem. His name was King David (point to life-sized mannequin, made of some large sticks, and dressed up with a shepherd’s robe and head covering to be David).
Even though our little city of Bethlehem isn’t known for much else, it is the birthplace of a king! We’re especially fond of our David. It seems that God was especially fond of King David, too--but not because David was a king. God was fond of David even when he was just a young man, tending sheep out here on the hills of Bethlehem. God called him “a man after My own heart” (Acts 13:22 and 1 Samuel 13:14).
You see, no matter what happened to David in life, David just kept turning his heart toward God.
When David was a shepherd (take a shepherd’s staff and hold it in front of David) and a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, David would chase after it, rescuing the sheep from it’s mouth. Then he’d grab the lion or the bear by the hair, strike it and kill it. David didn’t run away in fear, he just kept turning his heart toward God, trusting that God would deliver him from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear (put staff aside).
When God wanted to replace King Saul with a new king over Israel, God sent the prophet Samuel here to Bethlehem to David’s house, the house of Jesse. God told Samuel that one of Jesse’s sons would be the new king, and Samuel was to take a horn filled with oil and anoint him as king (take out a ram’s horn).
David was out taking care of the sheep when Samuel arrived, so Samuel didn’t see him right away. Samuel saw Jesse’s oldest son first and thought to himself, “Surely, this must be the one God has chosen.” But God said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
So all seven of David’s older brothers passed in front of Samuel, but each time God said they weren’t the one, either. So Samuel asked Jesse if he had any other sons, so Jesse sent for David to come in from the hills. When Samuel saw David, God said, “This is the one. Anoint him.” So Samuel poured oil onto David’s head (pretend to pour oil from the horn onto David), anointing David to become king one day. But it wasn’t until many years later, and many struggles later that David finally became king. You might have thought David would have given up on God’s promises to him, but he didn’t. He just kept turning his heart toward God.
During this time, the Israelites were at war with the Philistines. David’s older brothers went out to the battle with King Saul, but David stayed home with the sheep. One day, David’s father sent him with some food to the front lines to see how his brothers were doing (hold a loaf of bread in front of David). When David arrived, the battle was about to begin. But just before it did, out stepped a HUGE man from the Philistine army. His name was Goliath, and he was over nine feet tall!
Goliath called the Israelites all kinds of names, and challenged them to send out one man to fight him. Goliath said that whoever won the fight would win the whole battle. The Israelites were terrified, but not David. He didn’t like that this Philistine had insulted the army of God, so he shouted to Goliath: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
Even though David didn’t have a sword or shield or armor, he had his sling. So he picked up five smooth stones from the stream (hold a smooth stone in your hands) and ran toward Goliath. David put one of the stones in his sling, and slung it straight at Goliath. The stone hit Goliath right in the forehead, killing him instantly! The rest of the Philistine army ran in fear and Israel won the battle.
You would have thought that King Saul would have been so proud of David for his victory, but he wasn’t. He was jealous. He was afraid people might like David more than him, so he tried to kill David with his own spear. David had to flee for his life (take off David’s outer garments), hiding in cave after cave, not just for several weeks or several months, but for several years while King Saul pursued him and tried to kill him.
You would have thought that now David would have given up on God’s promises to make him king one day. But instead of turning his back on God, he just kept turning his heart toward God. He took out his harp (take out a hand-held harp and strum it) and wrote song after song to God, even when he was angry and tired and disappointed. He always trusted that God would deliver him. And time after time, God did. You can read David’s songs for yourself, as they are recorded in our book of Psalms.
God eventually fulfilled his promise to David, and one day, when King Saul died in battle, David became king (put a crown on David’s head). He won many battles and brought rest to much of the kingdom (continue dressing David as king by putting a long purple sash over his shoulders), but that’s when he faced his biggest battle of all. It was probably such a hard battle because it wasn’t a battle against a lion or a bear or a giant Philistine or a jealous king. This time the battle was against himself (point to David). David had to choose whether he would follow his God’s desires for his life, or whether he’d follow his own.
Unfortunately, he chose to follow his own desires, and he sinned with a woman named Bathsheba. At the height of his career, he fell into what could have been his deepest despair. It could have destroyed David, except for one thing. When he realized his sin, he broke down and wept. He pleaded with God for forgiveness, and God forgave him. Even at the worst possible moment of his life, David kept turning his heart toward God.
And God honored David’s heart. He promised David that one day, long after David was gone (start taking off David’s robe from the sticks), that God would raise up one of David’s descendants to become a king whose kingdom would never end (mannequin is now completely uncovered, revealing that it is just two sticks in the shape of a cross). Isaiah the prophet said He would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and the Prince of Peace (drape a long white kingly sash over the cross as if over the shoulders). It’s even been said that king would would save the people from their sins.
I don’t know how God’s going to do it, or when it’s going to happen, but as for me, I can’t wait for that day to come. Who knows? It might be just around the corner (smile and point towards the cross).
So that’s my story about King David and maybe now you can see why God was so especially fond of him--just like He’s especially fond of each one of you. No matter what happened to David in his life, he just kept turning his heart toward God.
And God wants you to be just like David. No matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you, keep turning your heart toward God. Did I happen to mention that He’s especially fond of you, too?
Thanks for coming to hear my story, and thanks for coming to Bethlehem, the birthplace of a King! (end with a slight bow)
