David was not just a boy who killed a giant and went on to become a powerful king and a popular model for the world’s most renowned sculptors. He is one of the most complex characters in the Bible: a shepherd boy chosen by God, brave yet humble, generous yet ruthless, mostly righteous — but with some extremely dark episodes in his life.
King David’s life is described in The Book of Samuel (1-2 Samuel). These books show the progression of David’s character from an epitome of righteousness to a man blinded by passion. Eventually, David gets punished, survives a great loss, and repents.
A Man After the Lord’s Own Heart
The first information we get about David, even before he is properly introduced, is that he is a man after the Lord’s heart (1 Samuel 13:14). After God abandoned King Saul, he sent the prophet Samuel to a man named Jesse to anoint one of his sons, who was to become the king of Israel. The only person worthy of this position was David. But what made him worthy? The narrator says it is David’s righteousness, but we have yet to see this righteousness in action.
David’s personality is clearly contrasted with that of King Saul. David and Saul reacted differently to God’s accusations. Saul often made excuses when confronted with his wrongdoings. In contrast, David, despite the significant sins that he committed later in his life, was always quick to repent.
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David acknowledged that God is faithful to those who believe in and obey him. He believed that God saves those who are humble, counting himself among them. Despite his imperfections, David exemplified the heart of a covenantal king, being a man after God’s own heart.
A Ruddy, Handsome Teenager
According to 1 Samuel 16, Jesse’s sons are tall and strong. There seems to be something regal about their appearance. To Samuel, several of them look like good candidates for a king. But not to the Lord. He has chosen the boy who was so young and seemed so insignificant, that he initially wasn’t even introduced to the prophet.
The youngest of Jesse’s sons was tending the sheep at that moment. He was a nice, healthy-looking teenage boy, approximately 15 years old. No one had thought he was important at all. But God had chosen him. As he explains to Samuel, it was David’s heart that set him apart from all other people in the kingdom.
A Talented Musician
King Saul had proven himself unworthy of God’s love and protection. God’s Spirit had left him, and an evil spirit now tormented him. The only thing that could provide him some relief was music. The only musician who could play the lyre so well as to pacify the tormenting spirits and bring some rest to the king’s soul was the young shepherd, David, son of Jesse.
Saul was unaware that God had chosen David to replace him on the throne. He was pleased with the boy’s service and he kept him around. The king even promoted the boy and made him an armor bearer.
David’s love for music and his artistic talents were even more obvious much later when he was already the king of Israel. When the Ark of the Covenant was being brought to Jerusalem, David danced before it. He was so overcome with joy that he leaped like a child and danced so expressively that one of his wives, Michal, was shocked. They had a massive disagreement about David’s behavior, and their marriage never recovered.
A Fearless Warrior
When he wasn’t playing the lyre for the king, David was still looking after his father’s sheep in Bethlehem. He was there when the Philistines, the arch-enemies of the Israelites, mocked Saul and the entire Israelite army.
The Philistines and Israelites prepared for battle in Judah. The Philistines set up camp near Sokoh, and the Israelites camped in the Valley of Elah, with both sides positioned on opposite hills. Goliath, a giant warrior from the Philistine side, came forward, wearing heavy bronze armor and carrying a large spear.
Goliath challenged the Israelites to send someone to fight him, promising that the losing side would serve the winners. This challenge frightened the king and the army. Goliath repeated the same words day after day, for 40 days. None of the Israelites dared to confront him.
David’s brothers were among these soldiers. Jesse, their father, wanted to make sure they were well. He sent David to bring them some food, and to check if they were fine. When he got there, he saw the same scene and heard the same speech by Goliath that had been frightening all the men for a while.
David had a completely different perspective than anyone else. To him, the idea of some Philistine defeating God’s army was ridiculous. Since no one was willing to fight the giant, David asked Saul for permission to do that. He had no doubts that he would defeat Goliath.
David was too young and thin to use the armor that Saul offered him. Instead, he faced Goliath armed only with his faith in God, a sling, and five smooth stones picked from a stream. One stone was enough to hit Goliath in the forehead, causing the giant to fall to the ground. David then took Goliath’s sword and beheaded him, securing a victory for the Israelites and demonstrating his faith and his reliance on God’s support.
The King’s Loyal Servant
King Saul had promised a significant prize to anyone brave and skilled enough to defeat Goliath. He even promised that the warrior would be accepted into the king’s family by marrying a princess. After David gained the love and trust of Saul’s son, Jonathan, and his daughter, Michal, who eventually became David’s wife, things changed significantly. Saul knew he was dealing with his successor on the throne and he wasn’t happy about that. From that moment, till the end of his life, he kept trying to get David killed.
With the help of Jonathan and Michal, David fled and avoided getting killed. He spent years in exile, running away from Saul and trying to assure him he was not his enemy. During that time, he gained a significant following, a small army of four hundred men.
David had the opportunity to kill Saul twice, but he never wanted to do that. The first time was when Saul heard David was in the Desert of En Gedi. He took 3,000 soldiers to find David near the Crags of the Wild Goats. Saul entered a cave to rest, not knowing David and his men were hiding deep inside. Quietly, David cut a piece of Saul’s robe but then felt guilty for disrespecting the king, God’s chosen one. Then he stopped his men from attacking Saul.
When Saul left the cave, David called out to him, showing respect and proving his loyalty by showing the piece of Saul’s robe. David explained he had no intention of harming Saul, asking why Saul was pursuing him. He left judgment to God, refusing to harm Saul.
Saul, moved by David’s kindness, admitted David was more righteous and predicted David would become king. He asked David to spare his family, to which David agreed. They parted ways but nothing really changed. Saul kept trying to kill the future king.
The next time Saul led an army against David, the God’s favorite managed to sneak into the king’s camp while everyone was sleeping and steal his spear, which was placed next to his head. Then, from a safe distance, David called out to the army and criticized them for not protecting Saul. Saul recognized David’s voice and admitted his mistake, promising not to pursue David again.
Even though, again, nothing changed, David remained loyal to the king. He even executed everyone who did any harm to Saul and his family, including the man who, much later, assisted Saul in committing suicide to avoid getting caught alive by the Philistines.
An Emotional Poet
David wasn’t happy when Saul died, and he wrote a deep and touching poem of lamentation devoted to Saul and Jonathan. It starts with:
“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel.
How the mighty have fallen!”
(2 Samuel 1:19)
Even after becoming the king, David kept writing poems and songs. 2 Samuel 22 is a song of praise and gratitude, devoted to God. This song is very similar to a number of the Psalms, which some people believe were mostly authored by David, although it is likely a legend. The opening lines are:
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation.
He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—
from violent people you save me.”
(2 Samuel 22:2-3)
The Mighty Ruler
Saul’s death led to a long-lasting conflict between the tribe of Judah and other Israelites tribes. These tribes initially supported the son of the late king Saul, Ish-Bosheth. Eventually, after years of conflict, David managed to unite them all.
When he was 30, David was recognized by all people as the true ruler of all Israel. Immediately after that, the Philistines attacked David’s army and got crushed. There were many more battles in the next 33 years of David’s kingship.
The most important aspect of David’s rule was not his battles, but his close relationship with God. God’s covenant with David, promising that his dynasty would endure forever, is a crucial moment in biblical history. This covenant underscores the special relationship between David’s lineage and God, culminating in the belief that Jesus Christ is a descendant of David.
Even though David was God’s chosen king of Israel, he was still only a human. He loved God and was always ready to repent, but he wasn’t perfectly righteous.
A Lustful Murder Plotter
The power that comes with the position of a ruler is tempting. In David’s case, it made him a terrible villain and affected the future of his family.
It was spring, and the whole army was fighting, but David was not on the battlefield. Instead, he was killing time by walking on the roof. He saw a beautiful woman bathing, and he arranged for her to come over. After he slept with her, she realized she was pregnant. The problem was that her husband was on the battlefield and hadn’t been home for a long while.
David tried to repair the damage by sending her husband home but he refused to go while other soldiers were risking their lives. Eventually, the king arranged for this soldier to be killed, and married his wife. The name of the soldier was Uriah, and his wife was Bathsheba.
A Repentant Sinner
Soon after David married Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan came and revealed that the Lord was displeased with David’s actions. Because he was given everything, but he also took what wasn’t his, he was about to suffer the consequences. As a punishment, someone from his own family would cause him a lot of trouble and would publicly sleep with David’s women.
This prophecy was fulfilled much later, through a series of horrible events that involved his children. His own son, Absalom, rebelled against him and slept with his concubines. There was also a more immediate punishment: when David’s and Bathsheba’s baby was just born, it was already ready to die.
Unlike the previous king, Saul, who always tried to find excuses when Samuel warned him about his sins, David acknowledged his own immediately, and he repented. His readiness to admit his wrongdoings and pray for God to forgive him and wash away his sins is an anticipation of the Christian concepts of repentance and salvation.
