A Man After God's Own Heart — 1 Samuel 13

0:01 I would like to just pray before we continue. Father God, I love the stories of David, and looking forward to telling them. But, father, I just pray that I might keep in the back of my mind this great this great thing that David glorified your name, and I wanna do the same thing. And and so David is a great example to us, Lord, and pray that we might live it. And pray that as I give this talk, Lord, your name would be honored and glorified, and that we would all be edified.

0:40 We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So you could perhaps take from that prayer that I'm going to talk to you about, David. And so for the last, oh, month or more, I've been studying David, studying him in detail, and and I've been excited.

1:02 I've learned some things about David that I didn't perceive before. Just spent the time on the detail to kinda dig it out. So, I'm gonna introduce David by reading a verse out of Acts 13. Acts 13 verse 22. I'm gonna start with verse 21 because that just gives context to it.

1:23 So, Acts thirteen twenty one, And afterward they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up for them David as a king and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart who will do all my well. And that's our introduction to David. Beautiful introduction, isn't it? So David was called a man after God's own heart.

2:00 And we we probably in in our hearts, we... Or or in our own thoughts, we would say, Lord, what does that mean? And and if David is an example to us, if that's what he is, then how how was David a man of... After God's own heart? What what can we discern from David's life?

2:25 And, I I would say, perhaps the overpowering thing was that David seemed to always have on his heart that he would glorify the Lord, that that's what he would do. I I I was thinking particularly of of David. I'm... I I like to use my imagination. So David's out on the hillside.

2:47 He's he's a shepherd. Right? He's out on the hillside, and and cloudless night is staring up at the stars. He's staring up the stars, and he says... I could say this one, maybe a gasp of just amazing.

3:04 He says, the heavens declare the glory of God. And so he saw in the things around him. He saw the hand of God and the glory. And and the result... There was a there was a consequence in David's life that led him to obedience.

3:19 And so David was called a man after God's own heart. I I desire that for myself. Would... Isn't that a healthy desire for any one of us to to desire to be a man after God's own heart? And what I'd like to do is turn over to Samuel chapter 13 and verse...

3:39 I think it's verse 13, and we'll just see where God actually said this in the Old Testament. And so you have to enter into a little bit of the irony of Saul's life, how he started well and ended terrible. But if we talk about David glorifying the Lord and seeking to honor in his life, you don't quite find that in Saul's life. So Saul Saul is in Mishmash in here in the thirteenth chapter. A place called Mishmatch.

4:16 Almost sounds like Mishmatch, doesn't it? But it's M I S C H M A, Mishmatch. And and over about 10 miles east of him is is Gilgal and Samuel's over in Gilgal but Samuel had told Saul now in seven days I'm going to come and so just wait for the seven days. Well, you're king now, right? And so you you can get pretty antsy if things don't seem to be going right.

4:44 So so the the enemy's around and and and Saul wants to wait and do this sacrifice before he attacks the enemy. I suppose he he he maybe had a healthy thought of the sacrifice, but but, the seventh day comes, and Samuel hasn't Samuel hasn't come yet. And and Saul's getting he he's getting more upset, and some of the people start... Some of his own people start to leave him. And and so he he he makes the statement.

5:16 Saul makes the statement. I felt compelled. And so, he went and he made the sacrifice himself. Well, now this was against the law. It was the priest that was to do that, and it was disobedience to God's command for Saul to do this.

5:33 So, Saul, he does it. He does this. And, still the seventh day, Samuel has not given up what he said he going to do. So, as soon as Saul finishes, right when he finishes, what should happen? Samuel shows up.

5:52 Samuel shows up. Samuel is so... He's so upset with Saul. And so the thirteenth verse of our chapter, we we get Samuel. Samuel said to Saul, you've done foolishly.

6:07 You have not kept the commandment of the lord, your god, which he commanded you, and now, the lord... For now, the lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. Obedience versus disobedience. Right? And we're...

6:22 And and and Samuel said, know, the Lord would've... He he... It wasn't predecided. Saul's Saul's out of here. That wasn't predecided.

6:33 Saul made a decision of disobedience to God and says, now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel for... Forever, but now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people because you have not kept what the Lord commanded. So, through Saul's disobedience, he lost it, but God had his eyes on another man. And that man's name was David, But I made...

7:48 So, David's probably a little kid. Like, I'm thinking he's probably under five years old. This is what God says. I've commanded him to do this. So we take...

8:08 We go down the alley, the the time alley a little bit farther, and we we get David. I'm going to make a guesstimate that David was about 16 when this comes. We say maybe ten or twelve years later. Just a guess. And so, David...

8:27 So the Lord speaks to Samuel. By the way, Saul continued in the pathway of disobedience. So, the Lord says to Samuel in chapter 16, verse one, okay. Chapter 16, verse one. And the Lord said to Samuel, how long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel?

8:49 Fill your horn with oil. I am sending you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite, for I have provided myself a king among his sons. And Samuel said, How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me. But the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Then, invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you what you shall do.

9:21 You shall anoint for me the one that I name for you. So, we we try to just kind of pick up the detail of how this happens. So, so I I in my imagination, can just so so just by picture. So Samuel lives in Rhema and and and David lives down in Bethlehem. So Bethlehem's maybe six, eight miles south of Jerusalem, quite close actually, but not for them.

9:53 If you were walking it, you'd say, Oh, six or eight miles. Okay. So then Samuel's another 10, 12 miles north, so we're talking about maybe 18 miles or so. So here's Samuel, the Lord says, take a heifer with you. Just visualized Samuel walking along with this rope over his shoulder and this heifer tied along and it's strolling along behind him and he walks these 18 miles and he he's headed for Ramah to to to Bethlehem And he arrives at Bethlehem and it's kind of interesting what it says here.

10:27 It says, when Samuel... This... So Samuel did... The fourth verse. So Samuel did what the Lord said and went to Bethlehem.

10:35 And the elders of the town trembled at his coming and said, do you come peaceably? Which is kind of funny in a way because you think of Samuel as just being... He's the prophet, you know, and you go to him and he would tell you all these good things. But but but Samuel is known to to to speak pretty faithful for the lord and to tell people that they've they've gone astray. And and when Samuel talked, when Samuel said something, something happened.

11:09 So so so if Samuel said, you... The Lord's gonna slay you, then you're you're done. You're you're a goner. So So, Samuel appears up there, and they said, Have you come peaceably? Peaceably?

11:23 And he said, Peaceably, I've come to sacrifice to the Lord. And he had. Was the Lord said, Now, you take a taffer and go do this. But it says that he consecrated Jesse and his sons. So he had called Jesse and his sons to come up, and he consecrated them.

11:43 I don't know exactly what that means, but he but they he probably blessed them and made sure that they were okay and so so they come into him. Now, we'll we'll understand something here that that that Samuel was in danger of being killed by Saul. So whatever happened here happened, it was private in nature. So I tried to visualize what what probably did happen. Probably, the probably Samuel pulls him aside into some house by themselves and he's going to do this thing that God sent him to do.

12:37 And then Jess, I suppose, is Don's imagination again. Samuel says, these are your sons. And so so Saul says, yes. This is my firstborn, Eliab. You know?

12:57 And so he starts to introduce these kids by... Or these kids, these men by birth order. Now little little remark, there... There's there's six sons plus David. So there's seven sons and Eliab's oldest, probably a lot older, possibly even twenty years older than Samuel, or than David.

13:27 Man is not... Dave's a 16 year old strapling. He's like really athletic kid, but he but he's but he's not... Doesn't have the the massive shoulders of a, you know, a key man. You know?

13:45 And here's Eliab. Wow. And and so Samuel looks at Eliab and he said, surely... This is what he's saying to himself. Surely, the lord's anointed is before me.

13:55 But the lord said to Samuel, do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature. He must have been a handsome looking dude, so... Don't look at his appearance and his physical stature because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. And so, in so saying, and the Lord telling us to Samuel, the Lord revealed something to us that is so true today, as true today as it ever was, that the Lord is looking at our hearts.

14:34 And while we might put the outward show of things ahead, wow, look at that guy, he's a leader, You know? But but the lord, he's looking at something different. He wants to know what's going on down in our hearts. And so so the lord doesn't see the way you and I see. Like Nancy, he...

14:55 We're looking at these outward appearance, but the Lord's looking down into our hearts. Okay, so, not Him. So, Jesse introduces the next son. He goes through each one, and each one of them, the Lord says to Samuel, neither has the Lord chosen this one. And so he gets to the sixth of the seven sons, and the Lord says, no about that one.

15:24 And Samuel's puzzled. He's he's just plain puzzled. And and he says in the eleventh verse, are all the young men here? Is is there someone missing? Oh, the kid's off there with sheep out in the sheepfold.

15:41 He's taking care of the sheep. Oh, so there is another one. So he says, You've got to bring him in. We can't have this sacrifice until they're all here. So, they bring David, and I just love the way David is described here.

15:59 They sent and brought him, and it says, this is the twelfth verse, Now he was ruddy with bright eyes and good looking. Just this good natured look on his face. He's one of the Bingham boys, okay? So, that's David. Okay.

16:53 And the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day. So this is how it started. So here's David. Where was he? He was in the sheep hole, right?

17:04 He was he was following the sheep. He was taking care of the sheep. I I've often tried or I should say I've often. I was trying to imagine so how did this start? So so Sammy just called us to go up to the sacrifice.

17:20 Come on, boys. We're supposed to all of us go. Who's gonna take care of the sheep? I'll just leave the kid. He'll do it.

17:26 You know? And And so goes, by default he's the one, but also there probably is a little history there, history to realize that here's a kid that really cares for the sheep. And so David was in the sheepfold. And it highlights to us the idea that David was a shepherd, and the idea that through those years of his... To those teenage years when David served as a shepherd, he was sir...

18:01 He was, shall we say, he was attending the school of God. He was learning lessons as a shepherd that would be the very lessons he would need to be the king of Israel. And and as a shepherd boy, as he as he as he takes care of the sheep and he makes sure they're cared for, he he ensures that that's his responsibility and he does it and he does it day after day and month after month and year after year and the lessons were being formed in David that made him a king. Now let's see the way God puts this. So, turn with me to two Samuel chapter seven and verse eight.

18:46 Second Samuel chapter seven and verse eight. Now, the the context of of this is that David had come to the point, he was king now, and he'd come to the point where he he thought he he would like to build a house for God, a temple. And so he he proposes this to Nathan and Nathan listened, Nathan goes to the Lord and Nathan comes back with a message. So what we're reading here is what God told Nathan to say to David. Okay, Now therefore, the eighth verse, Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep to be ruler over my people Israel, and I have been with you wherever you have gone.

19:41 Okay, we'll stop there. So, so I took you from the sheepfold. So how how literally that was true, right? That's exactly where David was. He was in the sheepfold and and the others said, Let him take care of the sheep.

19:55 Well, that's a little imagination there, but others... Dave will take care of the sheep. So, David, who was taking care of the sheep, was called from the sheepfold to serve in a capacity of taking care of the sheep. So he was made king, but what is the king? He's the one that takes care of the sheep.

20:21 He's the one that takes care of the people that are underneath him. And so he spent those years, I'm gonna say the years, his teenage years probably. I've made the guesstimate that David was about 18 years old when he actually killed Goliath, but during those years of probably 10 to 18 years old, was helping there with the sheep, and he was learning those lessons. David, the shepherd, David, the one that had learned... Now, if we're speaking about a man after God's own heart, then then what what is God's heart like?

21:07 Well, David even expressed it himself. He said, the Lord is my shepherd. God's got a shepherd's heart. God's got... And so did David.

21:15 And and David was a man after God's own heart. Was made according to the pattern. Okay. So, asked this question, so what does a shepherd do? So, the shepherd has two basic things.

21:33 You might add some others to this, but he has two basic things. One is he's caring for the sheep. He makes sure they're provided for, and he's taking care of them. He's an overseer of the sheep. But there's another thing I'd like to add to that.

21:49 He's the protector of the sheep, and we see that actually in the story of David. He's the protector of the sheep. So, of course, I'm speaking of the stories of the lion and the bear. I love these stories. So, we're gonna go on to the next chapter here, and we're going to talk about this lion.

23:04 And we're in the thirty second verse. And so, thirty second verse, Then David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine. We can just imagine Saul's eyes and maybe a little bit of a of a of a laughing look on his face or something and David and Saul said to David, you're not able to go up against this Philistine to fight with him. You're you're a youth, and this man's been a a man of war from his from his youth.

23:40 Uh-huh. I can understand Saul's standpoint, can't you? He he said, kid, you're a kid. You can't do this. And and so David answers Saul.

23:50 David said to Saul, Your servant used to keep his father's sheep. And when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it and delivered the lamb from its mouth. And when it rose up against me, I caught it by its beard and struck and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. And this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them seeing that he has defied the armies of the living God.

24:20 Moreover, David said, the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.' He must have been pressed Saul, right? Because Saul says, Go and the Lord be with you. So, let's try to visualize this. Learned So, this lesson well. He's the protector of the sheep.

24:47 And so, so we're gonna visualize David. He's out he's out on he's out on the field, out on the hill there with the sheep. It's nighttime. Stars are shining down, but David's thinking of the sheep. He's got those sheep before him, and so he's he's he's he's on the guard.

25:07 There's enemies out there. There's enemies out there that can get these sheep, and so David's on the watch. He's on the watch for the sheep, for the enemy. And and so so as David is there keeping watch over the sheep, the the lion creeps up. He's a vicious beast, and he creeps up, and he and he creeps up on his stomach.

25:31 He's crawling silently a lot up toward... And he gets behind the big rock over... The one right over there. He gets on this big rock... He gets behind this big rock and and and he's watching David and he's watching the sheep.

25:46 Boy, they look good. And so, suddenly makes this leap and he grabs one of the sheep and he starts off with the sheep, but David's a true shepherd. He's on the guard and he leaps after the lion and it says that he smote the lion. So, in my book, David has staff, this shepherd staff and he leaps more and he and he he whips that that staff down and strikes that lion. Wham.

26:21 You know, and the the lion, ow, that hurt. I I was thinking said that. So the lion turns towards David in tremendous wrath and David. Now, we know a little bit about lions. I I could tell you a little story because I once saw a lion and a tiger in an actual fight together in before my eyes.

26:47 But but but the lion the lion comes at David and and it's got those terrible claws and and and it's and he's coming to get David and and now David has a staff in his hand. The lion's coming. Now, we know that the lions have the the extra fur around their necks. So, the Bible says he caught that fur. He caught caught up caught his beard.

27:10 It says, caught that fur and and I tried to visualize what what was really going on because because the lion's trying to get at him with those terrible claws and David's got hold of him. He's holding him back, and he's got this staff, and David was fast. And he got this staff, and wham, he starts beating that lion on the head, and he kills it. He kills the lion right on the spot. And furthermore, he did the same thing on a bear.

27:38 Wow. And so, so, so here's, here's Saul. He says, okay, go for it. Do it. So so Saul says, come on, I'll give you some I'll give you some armor.

27:52 So so now remember, Saul Saul is said to be, head and shoulders above David. So so so he gets his arm and he starts putting on David. I can just picture this. So got got one of these big boys standing up here, you know, and I'm... And I got I've got I've got this terrific...

28:12 We're gonna put this armor on you know and and here it's just hanging on him. It's like this doesn't fit and and David said I can't go with these. I haven't proved them. I haven't and so so. Here's Saul.

28:29 David's rejecting his armor and Dave takes his armor off and puts it down. And I've wondered, so how did, how, what did, how did Saul react? And he's probably thinking, yeah, I thought so. He can't do it. So David takes the armor off and the Bible says he picked up his staff and he had this shepherd's bag, a little satchel or something.

28:54 We call it a backpack today probably. But he has this shepherd's bag and he and he gets up and he just like he walks off from Saul. I I in my imagination, Saul said, what's the kid doing? You know, and and he he doesn't have anything to fight with, you know, and and so he goes down the hill towards the stream. Now, when we had our trip to Israel, we spent an hour or more in the Valley Of Elah.

29:23 And so if you're sitting on the valley, I believe it's if you're looking, I think it's if you're looking north, but I may have my directions on, but you're looking down the valley and over on the left hand side the hill goes up, oh, maybe 75 feet high. It was a significant hill but certainly not a mountain. And they said along on that hill is where the children of Israel were. I don't know how many there were, we'll say 10,000, are ranged up there on top of that hill watching this Goliath there. David comes off the hill, goes down, and there's a stream that runs there, and and he picks five smooth stones out of this out of the stream, carefully picks them.

30:10 I I I, you know, you guys have stood by the side of a river and you're picking up good skipping stones, and you know how you... This one looks like a good... Well, David picks up five stones and he puts them in his little satchel and and then coming up on the other side of the stream, there's a bank that's about somewhere between ten and fifteen feet high. It's significant enough that you can't see somebody if you're back a little ways. So he comes up over the bank and then there's sort of a plateau or plane that runs for, I'm gonna guess it's a third of a mile across to the hills on the other side of the Valley Of Elah.

30:50 And he comes up over the top of the hill and there's Goliath. I'm gonna say he's 300 feet away. I just have to put something in there that seems to me realistic. He comes up over the side and here's Goliath. Goliath, somebody's coming and Goliath stands up and he stares at him and he starts to see He's madder and hops.

31:15 This is what he said. This is what Goliath said. He said, Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks? So, here's Goliath. He's the man of war.

31:29 He's got all this stuff. The Bible tells us he had a spear like a weaver's beam. He'd throw that at you and, man, you're done. And and he's got this sword and all all shield, at the shield and armor. And David's come against him with a stick.

31:49 With a stick. And I suppose the idea is that Goliath, if it had been a real warrior like guy, would have said, Ah, this is for me. He was just plain insulted. It says, The Philistine cursed David by his gods. And the Philistine said to David, Come to me and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.

32:18 And David said to the Philistine, now this is the notable part, You come to me with a sword and a spear and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. David didn't say, I got what I need to kill you. He said, I got the one I need to kill you. I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This isn't about me, David is saying.

32:48 This is about God and your defying God, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will deliver you into my hand. Now, notice that the Lord will deliver you into my hand. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.

33:31 And now, Now, just look at what David said. First all, he says, You're defying God. You're defying God, and God is going to deliver you into my hand. Then he says, And I'm going to strike you and I'm to take your head off. But it's the next part that I...

33:52 When I began to realize what he's really saying, he says, This day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air, to the beast of the field, that all the earth may know that there is a god in Israel. He wasn't just saying, I'm going to kill you and I'm going to, you know, he wasn't just responded to, he he had told David, I'm going to give your body to the birds of the air to eat. He wasn't just responding to that. He says, I'm gonna I'm gonna kill you and I'm gonna give the whole army to the to the birds And and I I thought, well, I I actually was telling this to Kathy and she says, audacity. I thought, that's good.

34:34 That's pretty good. The audacity of David to say, you were gonna kill me but I'm gonna kill them. I'm gonna get the whole army. I'm gonna I'm gonna give the bodies of of of the whole army of the Philistines. I thought, wow.

34:51 What a statement. What a statement. No one but god could do that, right? Of course, that's exactly what happened and so so, David starts so so it says, the Philistines started towards David and and it says, ran towards the Philistines. So, so the Philistines get, you little brat, you know?

35:13 And and and David starts towards the Philistine and he starts to run. Now, as he runs, he he he reaches into his satchel and he pulls out a rock and sticks it into... He's doing this while he's running, he's going, and he pulls it into his sling and he starts this swing. Want to just picture something for you. So, up here on this hill, there's 10,000 men standing and they're watching this drama.

35:54 Over here on the plane, there's another 10,000 men. I don't know how many, but we're making a picture. There's another 10,000 men over here. About 20,000 people. And David and Goliath are in the arena.

36:07 I mean, that's about what it amounted to. This was not done in a secret. This was an exhibition by the hand of God And so think of one of those Olympic matches. Think like a disco thrower. Is that how you say a disco player?

36:31 And so he discuss... I knew I was saying something wrong. The discus, thrower. And so so so he so he he, so the discus... He's getting ready to make the throw.

36:42 So he makes... He starts forward, and then you see him, and he he he puts everything he has. His whole body goes into it. There's a snap and away it goes. So so I picture David.

36:53 He's swinging this thing and there comes this moment where where he puts everything into it and and and, he has to get himself close enough to do it. So he gets, I'm gonna say he gets 50 feet away or 40 feet away, and he lets go of this thing and and and 20,000 people are watching and and boom, it hits the giant. It goes right past all of his guard and hits him right in the forehead. It hit him so hard that it crushed his skull. It killed him right on instant.

37:25 However, people didn't know exactly how it hit him, And so they're around. And so I kind of like this, imagine that one of those friends of David up there on the hill says, David, David, watch out. He may just be stunned. He might jump up and get you. And and and so David comes up to Goliath, he pulls the sword out of Goliath.

37:51 And he go... And and and he severs the giant's head off. He he he severs the giant's head off and now he reaches down and I can just... This is a little bit of my imagination Grant, But I can just see him lifting that head up both sides. To the one, it meant death.

38:17 To the other, it meant victory. And and we're told that we're told that the Philistines turned and fled and the and the and the whole army of the of the Israelites came flooding down the hill. It was like a wave and they came they come across the brook and they come up onto the plain and the Bible says they chased them all the way down the hill. They chased them all the way to a couple of cities of the Philistines way, and most of the Philistines, or at least a good portion of them, were killed. And God did exactly what David said.

38:55 He fed the army to the birds of the air. And all this was through a man who said, God will do this. God will do this. This is God's thing. This isn't about me.

39:10 This is about God. And it was done with, if I've shown drama here, let me tell you, I've I've underdone it, you know. That was a moment of drama that we might well try to imagine and enter into. A moment when God acts and the victory is won. I believe that even in this story, there's perhaps a picture of the Lord Jesus.

40:19 There's this great great enemy. For David, it was Goliath. There's this great great enemy for us. He's he's he's he's similar to Goliath in that sense, and he comes against us, and he's he's committed to our failure. And the lord Jesus Christ comes into this world, and he becomes the the David, shall we say, that faces the the Goliath, the the the...

40:47 He becomes the one who faces Satan, and and and through death... David wasn't actually killed, but he was close... He was in danger of it. But the Lord Jesus, through death, destroyed the work of Satan so that you and I could be saved from our sins. And so it says Christ died for our sins, and Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again according to the Scriptures, and we praise His name for that.

41:22 I'm just going to, in closing, I'm just going to quote John three sixteen, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. Father God, we thank you for the stories of victory and how they picture for us the Lord Jesus and the wonder of what he was. We think of the drama this moment and the victory of it. And we thank you, Lord, that there was a drama there on the cross that looked a lot different, but it had similar significance. And so, we thank you, Lord Jesus, that at the cross, you destroyed the work of Satan and that you've that you have provided salvation for those that would simply trust in you.

42:18 And so, we ask you, lord Jesus, that each one here in this room would trust in you and your finished work on the cross. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.