A man after mine own heart

                                   

If you’ve ever taught a Bible study class you’ve no doubt encountered a question that is going to be our topic of study today.   Or, maybe you’ve even wondered about this yourself.  I can answer in the affirmative to both situations so I thought this might be a good time to take a few minutes and consider this subject. 

The question I’m talking about comes up whenever the study of David, the 2nd King of Israel, is mentioned.  Someone will usually ask: “How could David be ‘a man after God’s own heart’ when we read about some of the sinful things he did in his life?”  And the episode with Bathsheba many times accompanies the question.

The basis of that question comes from the words of Samuel in 1Sam. 13:14 and then we find them repeated in a sermon delivered by Paul in Antioch (Acts 13:22).   At this point I’m going to point out something that I never hear mentioned when we hear those words, “A man after mine own heart.” Notice the words Paul finishes that sentence with: “which shall fulfil all my will.”  Those words are vitally important to our lesson here today, so keep them in mind and we’ll come back to them later.

I have to admit that this is an interesting question and one that should be considered for study and, hopefully, come up with an answer to it.  First, I think we need to fully understand what “heart” we’re talking about here.  It is probably one of the most-used metaphors, allegories or analogies, or whatever you want to call it, in the Bible.  And, when used as such, the word “heart” is referring to our “mind” (IE: our spiritual heart) rather than the blood-pumping organ in our chest cavity.

Let me provide you with a couple of passages showing this metaphoric usage.  Prov. 23:7 says: “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he...”  In the New Testament, Jesus asks a question that not only describes our analogous comparison but, tells us that our blood-pumps are not the source of our wrong-doings - it’s our mind.  Please read Matt. 12:34-35 and you’ll see this.

Here’s a few more that you can look up for yourself, but I’ll give you a clue as to what you’ll find.  “Deceit” comes from the “heart,” (Jer. 6:14) as does “evil & perversity” (Prov. 6:14).  Things that “defile” a person before God (Matt. 15:18-20).  In fact, all of our evil “imaginations” (intentions) come from man’s “heart/mind” (Gen. 6:5).  Our “character,” or, the characteristics of our being, comes from our “spiritual heart.”

Ok, lets see if we can take our understanding of the “heart” as the Bible uses it and answer our question regarding David.  Can we look at David’s “character” and thereby understand some things?  Some things not only about David, but about ourselves too.

I think that the 1st thing to note about David is his love of God and his willingness to follow Him and do whatever He commanded.  A study of the book of Psalms readily shows the awe and respect that David felt for God.

Did David commit sins?  Did he have iniquities?  You bet he did!  But the important thing to note is, that he was repentant of them.  IE: he was of the nature, the “character,” to repent of his offenses, his sins.  Read the 51st Psalm and see if you don’t recognize this aspect of his “character.”

David was punished several times for his errors in judgment, his sins.  We see this happen when he attempted to bring the Ark of the Covenant home from Abinadab’s house.  To make a long story short, he didn’t transport it in the manner which God had commanded it to be done.  Rather, he devised his own way of doing it and it ended up causing Uzzah his life.

On another occasion, he “numbered” (took a census) of his army.  He didn’t need to know this so why did he do it?   Well, the answer to that applies both to David’s iniquity and our own.  In 1Chron. 21:1 we see that “Satan provoked David to number Israel.”  Was David any more immune to the wiles of Satan than we are?  (That’s a rhetorical question).  And, in verse 7 we read that God was “displeased” by David’s actions.  What did David do when he became aware of God’s displeasure?  He said, “I have sinned greatly” and prayed for forgiveness of it.  (Verse 8)

Now let’s get to the juicy part, the salacious sin of David - his adultery with Bathsheba.  (2Sam. 11)   And, not only adultery, he compounded it by causing the death of her husband, Uriah.  The prophet Nathan rebuked him for this and again, David did not deny his guilt when his sin was pointed out to him, but again repented of it.  And, he paid a severe price for his sins in this affair.

Okay, we’ve established that yes, David was a sinner.  But, did he remain in his sins?  No, he repented of them.  And, he never blamed either the Lord or anyone else for their commission.  Plus, he never impugned the Lord for punishing him for them.  He recognized his sin and he repented of it.

Was he a man?  Did he err in judgments and actions?  Did he, like all men, sin and “come short of the glory of God?”  (Rom. 3:23)  Absotively, posilutely he did!  So, when we look a David’s life we see a man of both success and failure.  We can safely say that he was not perfect, can’t we?  That said, then what made him a “man after God’s own heart?”  Here is my assessment and answer to that question.

Simply stated, his “heart” was always pointed towards God.  Throughout the scriptures his “faith” is never questioned.  His “judgment?” - yes, but never his “faith.”  He was a lover of God’s Word and the book of Psalms proves that.  And, David was a person thankful for God’s blessings.  Read Psalm 100:4.

Yes, just like us, he sinned on a regular basis, but he “repented” on an equal basis of those sins.  Do we do that?  Sin on a regular basis?  Speaking for myself, the answer is “yes.”  But, didn’t we just read in Rom. 3:23 that “all have sinned?”  Therefore I believe that we all have to answer “yes” to that question.

Still using David as an example, do we love God and His Word?  Most of all, is our “heart” pointed in the right direction - towards God?  If the answer to those questions are “Yes” then we too are men “after God’s own heart.”  If a “No” answer is found then we’d better “repent” and redirect our “hearts.” 

By the way, the Greek word translated in English as “repent” means “to think differently.”  Or, to “change your way of thinking.”  It is a derivative of the Greek word “metamorphoo” from whence we get “metamorphosis” which means “a complete change of form.”  Don’t you think that fits with what “repentance” truly is?

Our closing thought involves one more thing about God and David that we need to strive for in order to be like David - a “man after God’s own heart.” Are we going to be a person that will “fulfil all of God’s will?”  That’s why David was and how we can be.  Let’s echo the prayer of David found in Psalm 51:10

   “Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right spirit within me.”

Respectfully submitted,

Ron Covey