David: The Once and Future King

Wimberley, Texas - 29 June 2009

Long before King Arthur established his round table, there was a king by whom all his sucessors would be judged. The good ones "like their predecessor David" did right by God and the people. The bad ones "unlike their predecessor David" did what was evil in the sight of
God and the people. When the Messiah came, he was known as the "Son of David."

We are looking into several episodes in the life of King David in the Sunday sermons. We've noted that his smallness of stature was far outweighed by his largeness of heart, and God looks on the heart. We have seen that, even though he was a giant-slayer, he was not a supernatural super hero, but a courageous young man willing to stand up to oppression. Yesterday we looked into the circumstances of how he actually became king: the death of Saul, his father-in-law, and Jonathan, his best friend and soul mate.

Next week we'll focus on David's city: Jerusalem. You know what the realtors say, "Location! Location! Location!"

Just today I was reading about the governor of South Carolina who's in a bit of a pickle over his infidelity. He and his spiritual counselor were both referring to King David in an effort to bring some sense to his misdeeds. It seems that David was not just a king of an ancient Middle Eastern backwater nation during the tenth century b.c., but is still relevant in a land far away in both time and space.