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A Man After God’s Own HeartJERUSALEM CITY OF DAVID

n Lesson 3, we learned about David’ssteadfast faith in God. He suffered and

endured many trials, especially at the handof King Saul. Yet, David depended on Godto deliver him out of them all.

We also learned about David’s specialfriendship with the king’s son Jonathan.Both David and Jonathan set their hearts toobey God and they loved each other likebrothers. But sadly, David lost his bestfriend to a violent death.

True Brotherly Love

After David returned from a battle with theAmalekites, a man from Saul’s campbrought news of the death of Saul andJonathan. Ironically, he was an Amalekite.David asked him how he knew that Saul andJonathan were dead. The man lied, describ-ing how Saul had stabbed himself, but didn’tdie. When King Saul saw the man, he askedhim to kill him, and the Amalekite complied.

David immediately had the man put todeath for killing God’s anointed. Then, heand the men with him tore their clothes (asign of great mourning), cried bitterly, andfasted until evening.

David was an extraordinary man. KingSaul had tried to kill him on numerous

occasions. He was chased, forced to hide incaves, and even forced to leave his home-land. Yet, when David heard of the death ofSaul, he did not celebrate. He mourned. Hecried over Saul as well as Jonathan. He waseven moved to dedicate a song to them. It isas if David, even after all that the king haddone to him, did not consider Saul anenemy.

How many people do you know whowould react that way to their enemy’sdeath?

How about you? How would you react ifyou heard about the misfortune of someonewho hated you? Would you laugh and cele-brate? Turn to Ezekiel 25:6-7 and fill in theblanks to see how God views such actions:“For thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Because you_____________________ your hands,____________________________, and_______________________with all yourdisdain for the land of Israel, indeed, there-fore, I will stretch out My hand against you,and give you as plunder to the nations; I will___________________ from the peoples,and I will cause you to perish from thecountries; I will ____________ you, andyou shall know that I am the LORD.’”

God is going to destroy an entire peoplebecause they are going to laugh and cele-

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A Man After God’sOwn Heart

1 Children’s Bible Lesson

Illustrations by Paula Rondeau

brate when Israel is punished. Therefore, itis very important to remain humble whenbad things happen to other people. NoticeProverbs 24:17-18: “Do not rejoice whenyour enemy falls, and do not let your heartbe glad when he stumbles; Lest the LORDsee it, and it displease Him, and He turnaway His wrath from him.”

David BecomesKing of Judah, Then Israel

After the death of Saul, David asked theEternal what he should do. God told him togo to Hebron. When he got there, the peo-ple of Judah anointed him to be king ofJudah. However, Israel did not. Abner, thecaptain of Saul’s army, proclaimed Saul’sson Ishbosheth the new king of Israel. But,David did not push the issue. He trusted inthe Eternal and waited for Him to deliverthe rule of Israel into his hand.

One day, two of Ishbosheth’s captainsslipped into his palace and killed him. Thenthey traveled all night to Hebron, whereKing David was. When they arrived, theytold David that they had killed Ishboshethand that the Eternal had avenged him ofSaul’s house that day. These two thoughtthat they had done a good deed.

However, David said to them, “‘...whensomeone told me, saying, “Look, Saul isdead,” thinking to have brought good news,I arrested him and had him executed inZiklag—the one who thought I would givehim a reward for his news. How muchmore, when wicked men have killed a right-eous person in his own house on his bed?Therefore, shall I not now require his blood

at your hand and remove you from theearth?’ So David commanded his youngmen, and they executed them...” (II Samuel4:10-12).

Though David wanted to be king of allIsrael, he did not desire to have Saul’s sonkilled. Many people in this position wouldhave rewarded these men for their evil deed.But David saw them for the murderers theywere—and punished them accordingly. Hethen honored Ishbosheth by having himburied.

Ishbosheth’s death left Israel without aking. So the elders of Israel came to Hebronand anointed David as king. His first actionwas to conquer the city of Jerusalem. So,after having ruled Judah for seven years andsix months, David was established by Godas king over all Israel.

God’s Covenant With David

When the Philistines learned that David hadbeen made king of Israel, they immediatelytested him by raiding towns in Ephriam.Before retaliating, David asked the Eternalwhat he should do. God told him to attackthe Philistines and that He would deliverthem into his hands. David obeyed, andIsrael defeated the Philistines.

The Philistines kept on attacking. Buteach and every time, David asked theEternal what to do, and God told him. Davidobeyed, and God continued to deliver thePhilistines into Israel’s hand.

David acknowledged something that Saulwould not. David knew that without God, hewas nothing. He understood that God had todirect his steps. Notice what Jeremiah said:

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“O LORD, I know the way of man is not inhimself; It is not in man who walks to directhis own steps” (10:23). This is somethingthat David understood well. He did nothingwithout first seeking God’s counsel.

You should strive to do the same. Youshould ask God to direct every aspect ofyour life. God is very concerned about you.You can ask Him to help you with yourschool work. Ask Him to help you under-stand His Word. If you ask Him, He willhappily direct you. Turn to Proverbs 3:5-6and fill in the blanks: “Trust in the LORDwith ____________________________, and ___________on your own understanding; in______________________ acknowledge

Him, and He shall_________________________________.

Having defeatedthe Philistines, Davidthought that it wastime to bring the ark ofGod to Jerusalem. Hegathered some of hismen and headed forthe house of Abinadab,in Gibeah, where theark of God rested. Thewhole nation of Israel,along with David, wassinging, dancing andrejoicing before theEternal. At one point,the cart that was carry-ing the ark was aboutto tip over. A mannamed Uzza, one ofAbinadab’s sons,

reached out and touched the ark in order tokeep it from falling. God was angry withUzza and instantly struck him. Uzza died onthe spot.

The ark of God was not supposed to becarried in a cart. The priests were supposedto transport it. However, because Israel didnot pay attention to God’s detailed instruc-tions, a man died.

After this incident, David was afraid tobring the ark to Jerusalem, because he didnot want to die like Uzza. However, aftersome time, he did bring the ark toJerusalem. And he had it carried accordingto the instructions that God had laid out cen-turies earlier.

Upon entering Jerusalem with the ark ofGod, David was singing and dancing infront of all the people. But his wife Michal,Saul’s daughter, thought that David was notbehaving like a great king. From her quar-ters, she looked down upon David withgreat disgust. She later told David that shethought he looked foolish dancing in frontof the people. But David told her that hedidn’t care. He was going to show theEternal his appreciation through song anddance regardless of what she, or anyoneelse, thought.

The Bible reveals that Michal never boreany children for David. Possibly, God hadpunished her for being proud and disre-spectful toward His anointed leader. If so,this punishment prevented her from provid-ing a successor to David’s throne from thefamily of Saul (II Sam. 6:1-23).

Afterwards, the Eternal gave Israel restfrom all of their enemies. David was verythankful and wanted to show his apprecia-tion. He told the prophet Nathan that hewanted to build a temple for the ark of God.Nathan told David to do what was in hisheart since God was with him.

However, that night, God commandedNathan to give David a message concerninghis plans. Because David had killed manymen in battle, he was not permitted to buildGod’s temple. Yet, God did make a covenantwith David. Notice what God said concern-ing David: “When your days are fulfilledand you rest with your fathers, I will set upyour seed after you, who will come fromyour body, and I will establish his kingdom.He shall build a house for My name, and Iwill establish the throne of his kingdom for-

ever. I will be his Father, and he shall be Myson. If he commits iniquity, I will chastenhim with the rod of men and with the blowsof the sons of men. But My mercy shall notdepart from him, as I took it from Saul,whom I removed from before you. And yourhouse and your kingdom shall be establishedforever before you. Your throne shall beestablished forever” (II Sam. 7:12-16).

David was very happy and grateful thatGod was going to establish his throne for-ever. Turn to II Samuel 7:18-22 to see howDavid expressed his heartfelt gratitude:“Then King David went in and sat beforethe LORD; and he said: ‘Who am I, O LordGOD? And _________________________,that You have brought me this far? And yetthis was a small thing in Your sight, O LordGOD; and _________________________ofYour servant’s house for a great while tocome. Is this the manner of man, O LordGOD? Now what more can David say toYou? For You, Lord GOD, know Your ser-

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vant. For Your word’s sake, and accordingto Your own heart, _____________________________ all these great things, to makeYour servant know them. Therefore You aregreat, O Lord GOD. For there is____________ like You, nor is there anyGod besides You, according to all that wehave heard with our ears.’”

Once again, we see that David acknowl-edged that he was nothing and that God iseverything. He knew that it was the Eternalwho established his kingdom. Unlike Saul,David loved his Creator with all of his beingand set his heart to obey Him.

Test Your Memory:

1) How did David react when he found outthat Saul had been killed? ____________________________________________________________________________________2) Is it okay to celebrate when others havemisfortune? _________________________Explain:_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________3) Who did God say would build His temple?___________________________________

David RemembersHis Covenant With Jonathan

With his kingdom firmly established, andhaving been assured by God that his familywould always sit on the throne, Davidremembered the covenant that he had withhis friend Jonathan (I Sam. 20:14-16, 42).He inquired about any who were left of

Saul’s family and was told about Ziba, oneof Saul’s chief servants. David called forhim to appear before the throne.

When Ziba arrived, David asked him ifthere were any left from Saul’s family. Zibatold him about Jonathan’s sonMephibosheth. He had been in hiding forfear that if discovered, David would have

him killed. David sent for him.When Mephibosheth wasbrought before the king, hefeared for his life.

But, David assured him thathe meant him no harm. Notice:“So David said to him, ‘Do notfear, for I will surely show youkindness for Jonathan yourfather’s sake, and will restore

to you all theland of Saul yourgrandfather; andyou shall eat

bread at mytable continu-ally’” (II Sam.9:7).

As king,David couldhave kept theland for him-self. Instead,he chose tokeep his word

to Jonathan. That is extraordinary. ThoughJonathan was dead, David decided to keephis vow to him. Only a man of great char-acter would do such a thing.

How about you? Would you haveremembered to keep a promise like that

after so many years? David showed that hisword could be counted on. You shouldstrive to do the same. There was an old say-ing, “A man is only as good as his word.” Isyour word any good? Can people count onyou to do what you say you are going todo?

Strive to keep your word. By keepingyour promise, you will make a good namefor yourself. Notice what God’s Word says:“A good name is to be chosen rather thangreat riches, loving favor rather than silverand gold” (Prov. 22:1).

Wandering Eyes Lead to Sin

One evening, after rising from a nap, Davidwalked on the roof of his palace. As he tookin the view, he noticed a beautiful youngwoman bathing herself. Instead of gazing atthe woman, David should have immediate-ly turned away. But he didn’t. He allowedhis mind to entertain lustful thoughts, whichled to acting on them.

David asked one of his servants to findout who she was. The servant told the kingthat she was Bathsheba, the daughter ofEliam and wife of Uriah the Hittite. Davidsent messengers to bring Bathsheba back tohis palace. Then he and Bathsheba broke theSeventh Commandment: “You shall notcommit adultery” (Ex. 20:14). Afterwards,she want back to her home.

Some time later, Bathsheba sent a mes-sage to David telling him that she was withchild, and that the unborn child was his.When the king found out about this, heknew that his sin would be known through-out Israel. David should have repented for

breaking God’s Law. Instead, he set out tocover up his sin.

David sent a message to Joab, com-manding him to send Uriah home. OnceUriah arrived, David asked him about howthe war was going. After Uriah answeredDavid’s question, the king told him to gohome to his wife. David’s plan was todeceive Uriah into thinking that the babyBathsheba was carrying was his.

However, Uriah would not go home.When the king asked why, Uriah said,“How can I go home to my wife and sleepin a warm, comfortable bed while my fel-low soldiers are camping out in tents? Icould not do such a thing.”

Yet, David was determined to get Uriahto go home one way or another. He even gotUriah to drink so much that he got drunk.Then David tried to send Uriah home, buthe still would not go.

David must have reasoned within him-self, “I cannot get Uriah to go home to bewith his wife. So the only other way tocover up this offense is to have Uriahkilled.” Therefore, the king sent a letter toJoab (by the hand of Uriah) telling him toput Uriah in the area where the most intensefighting would be taking place so that hewould die.

Joab did as he was commanded, andUriah was killed. Joab sent word back toDavid. When Bathsheba was told that herhusband was dead, she mourned for him.After her mourning period was over, Davidmarried her.

God was not happy with what David did.He sent Nathan the prophet to tell Davidwhat he had done. First, Nathan told David a

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story. Notice: “There were two men in onecity, one rich and the other poor. The richman had exceedingly many flocks and herds.But the poor man had nothing, except one lit-tle ewe lamb which he had bought and nour-ished; and it grew up together with him andwith his children. It ate of his own food anddrank from his own cup and lay in hisbosom; and it was like a daughter to him.And a traveler came to the rich man, whorefused to take from his own flock and fromhis own herd to prepare one for the wayfar-ing man who had come to him; but he tookthe poor man’s lamb and prepared it for theman who had come to him” (II Sam. 12:1-4).

When David heard this, he was veryangry. He wanted to know who the man wasso that he could put him to death. However,he was not ready for the answer.Unknowingly, David had condemned him-self!

Nathan told David that he was that man.Notice what God said to David in II Samuel12:7-12: “Thus says the LORD God of Israel:‘I anointed you king over Israel, and_______________________________ fromthe hand of Saul. I gave you your master’shouse and your master’s wives...and gaveyou the house of Israel and Judah. And ifthat had been too little, I also would havegiven you much more! Why have you___________________________________of the LORD, to do evil in His sight? Youhave ______________ Uriah the Hittitewith the sword; you have_______________________ to be yourwife, and have killed him with the sword ofthe people of Ammon. Now therefore, thesword shall never depart from your house,

because ___________________________,and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittiteto be your wife...Behold, I will raise upadversity against you from your own house;and I will take your wives before your eyesand give them to your neighbor...For youdid it secretly, but I will do this thing beforeall Israel, before the sun.’”

David knew that he had sinned againstGod, and when he repented God forgavehim. However, because of the evil that Davidhad done, the child that he had withBathsheba was going to die. David fastedand prayed for God to change His mind, butthe child died. Afterwards, God blessedDavid and Bathsheba with another son,Solomon.

This is an example that even the greatestof God’s servants can slip and fall if they lettheir guard down. Satan is always waitingand ready to pounce on you when he getsthe chance (I Pet. 5:8). David broke three ofGod’s Ten Commandments (the sixth, sev-enth and the tenth), which resulted in thedeath of two people—Uriah and the baby.But in reality, he broke all of God’s com-mandments (James 2:8-11).

All of this could have been avoided hadDavid not entertained lustful thoughts. Sinbegins in the mind. If you entertain sinfulthoughts, eventually, you will act on them.Christ warns of this in Matthew 5:27-28:“You have heard that it was said to those ofold, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But Isay to you that whoever looks at a woman tolust for her has already committed adulterywith her in his heart.”

Therefore, it is very important to keepsinful thoughts out of your mind. When

they do enter, put them out immediately!Guard your mind at all costs. NoticeProverbs 4:23-27: “Keep________________ with all diligence, forout of it spring ______________________.

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,and put perverse lips far from you. Let youreyes ________________________, andyour eyelids look ____________________.

Ponder the path of your feet, and let allyour ways be established. Do not turn to theright or the left; remove your foot fromevil.”

Test Your Memory:

1) Why was David so kind toMephibosheth? _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________2) Who was Uriah the Hittite? _____________________________________________3) Which commandments did David break?_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Trouble in David’s Household

One day, Amnon, David’s firstborn son,terribly hurt his half-sister Tamar. WhenKing David heard about what had hap-pened, he was very upset. However, he didnot punish Amnon.

But Absalom, Tamar’s full brother,hated Amnon for what he had done to

Tamar and set out toget revenge. For twowhole years,Absalom madeplans to mur-der Amnon.He came upwith a planto host aparty andkill hisb r o t h e rt h e r e — aplan that he perfectly executed.

After the murder, Absalom escaped tothe kingdom of Geshur, where he stayedfor three years with his grandfather, KingTalmai. Having overcome his grief overthe death of his son Amnon, David longedto reconcile with Absalom.

David eventually forgave Absalom forkilling his brother and allowed him tocome back to Jerusalem. Absalom wasexcited to finally reconcile with hisfather—but was hurt when he learned thatDavid had given orders for him to be keptfrom the king’s presence. David didn’twant to send the message that the king’sfamily was above the law. However, aftertwo years had passed, David allowedAbsalom to visit him.

As the years went by, Absalom devel-oped a lust for power. He routinely rodearound in his royal chariot pulled by ateam of horses, and had fifty men runbefore him. The people of Jerusalemquickly took notice of Absalom’s impres-sive display of royalty, power and influ-ence. He even beguiled the people by mak-

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ing them think that he would be a betterking than his father David.

One day, he asked his father’s permissionto go to Hebron. Once there, Absalom sent amessage to Ahithophel, David’sadvisor, to join him. He also sentspies throughout all the northerntribes of Israel, who told every-one to shout, “Absalom nowrules as king in Hebron” oncethey heard the sound of thetrumpets.

When David heard the newsof what Absalom had done, heand his servants quickly fledJerusalem. He knew thatAbsalom would soon attack thecity in order to seize the throne.The king wanted to preserveJerusalem, which he fearedwould suffer much destructionif he decided to fend offAbsalom’s invading army.

When Absalom got toJerusalem, he took over theking’s palace. Ahithophel

advised Absalom to go and take hisfather’s concubines as his own in the sightof the people, which would solidify hisposition as Israel’s new king.

The words of the Eternal were comingto pass. Remember, God told David thatHe was going to punish him for what hedid with Bathsheba. God always does whatHe says He is going to do. Notice Isaiah55:11: “So shall My word be that goesforth ______________________; It shallnot return to Me void, but it_____________________ what I please,and it shall prosper in the thing for which Isent it.”

David escaped so that he could fight atanother time. He had his servant Hushai go

to Jerusalem and act as a spy. Hushaibecame one of Absalom’s advisors. On theadvice of Hushai, Absalom decided tostrengthen his army before attacking hisfather. This gave David the time that heneeded to build up his forces.

Absalom decided to mount an attack.With his cousin Amasa in charge of hisarmy, Absalom and his soldiers crossed theJordan River in pursuit of the king.

David sent his men to fight. But beforethey left, the king turned to his three com-manders, Joab, Abishai and Ittai, and saidloud enough for everyone to hear, “Makesure that you deal gently with Absalom, formy sake. I want my son to be taken alive.”

Some of the men, especially Joab, didnot understand why David would wantAbsalom unharmed. Despite all the grief,trouble and shame that Absalom hadcaused David, the king still loved his son.He wanted so much to reconcile with him.

David’s men crushed Absalom’s army,and had them on the run. Even the youngprince himself ran for his life. But his madrace to escape capture came to a suddenend—Absalom found himself hanging inmidair, his long hair caught in the branchesof a tree.

One of David’s soldiers discoveredAbsalom hanging in the tree, struggling toget free. The man rushed to tell Joab, whoreplied, “You just saw him! And why didyou not strike him there to the ground? Iwould have given you ten shekels of silverand a belt” (II Sam. 18:11).

So Joab went back and found Absalom.Then, against the king’s orders, he killedAbsalom. David was greatly distressed

over the death of his son, but he was verygrateful that God was with him and hadrestored him to the throne.

In Lesson 5, we will learn about howDavid’s son Solomon will rule a unifiedIsrael.

Test Your Memory:

1) Who was Absalom’s sister? ____________________________________________2) Which one of David’s Advisors betrayedhim? _____________________________3) Did God keep His promise to punishDavid for his sin with Bathsheba? _________________________________________

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BIBLE MEMORY: II Samuel 6:14-15

Published by The Restored Church of God.Printed in the USA; All Rights ReservedCopyright © 2005

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“For who is God, except the LORD? And who is a ______, except our God? God is my _________

and __________, and He makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of deer, and sets me

on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have also given me the shield of Your salvation; Your gentleness has made me great. You

enlarged my path under me; so my feet did not slip. I have ___________ my enemies and

____________ them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. And I have destroyed

them and wounded them, so that they _______________; they have fallen under my feet. For You

have armed me with __________ for the battle; You have subdued under me those who rose against

me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies, so that I destroyed those who hated me. They

looked, but there was none to save; even to the LORD, but He did not answer them. Then I beat

them as fine as the dust of the earth; I trod them like dirt in the streets, and I spread them out. You

have also ________________ from the strivings of my people; You have kept me as the head of the

nations. A people I have not known shall serve me. The foreigners submit to me; as soon as they

hear, they obey me. The foreigners fade away, and come frightened from their hideouts. The LORD

lives! Blessed be my _________! Let God be exalted, the Rock of my salvation! It is _________

who __________ me, and _________ the peoples under me; He delivers me from my enemies. You

also lift me up above those who rise against me; You have delivered me from the violent man.

Therefore I will _______________ to You, O LORD, among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your

name. He is the __________ of salvation to His king, and shows ___________ to His anointed, to

David and his descendants forevermore.”

PRAISE FOR GOD’S DELIVERANCEDavid was very thankful for the protection, mercy and all of the manyblessings that the Eternal bestowed upon him. Below, read a part of David'ssong of thanksgiving to God in II Samuel 22:32-51 and fill in the blanks.

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