You Gotta Have Heart.

When King Saul learned that his disobedience had disqualified his posterity from succeeding him, The prophet Samuel made it clear that God would be looking for a successor to Saul who would be a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14) In time, it became clear that David would succeed Saul although the Lord graciously permitted Saul to carry on indefinitely. Apparently, the Lord’s final challenge to Saul was to be the one to train David to eventually succeed him. But Saul “dropped the ball” again and while he did all he could to eliminate David, what he actually succeeded in doing is to toughen him up because of the harassment David had to endure at the hand of Saul. That in itself is a great lesson because Saul’s motives were contrary to the Lord’s, yet God’s will prevailed even though Saul freely chose to try and frustrate God’s plans for David. As awesome as it is to meditate God’s “irresistible will’ human freedom notwithstanding, I am drawn to the meaning of being “a person after God’s own heart.”

What exactly does that mean? We are so unlike God. It’s true that we are created in God’s image but human sin has marred that image in us. The Christian life is about gradually restoring that image as we seek to be more and more like Christ who has saved us from sin and its eternal consequences. In David’s case, we see a man who is capable of murder, conspiracy to commit murder (I am referring to his treatment of Uriah, Bathsheba’s first husband before she married David-2 Samuel 11); and then there is his failure as a father at least where Absalom is concerned (see 2 Samuel 14); finally there is this peculiar request by King David of his Son Solomon, who is about to be installed as his father’s successor, that Solomon should bring retribution on the head of Joab after the death of David (1 Kings 2: 5,6). Of course, David had his many moments of chivalry, extending kindnesses to others including enemies, and extreme loyalty to friends not to mention the Lord. He also could have “bumped Nathan the Prophet off, when the latter confronted him with his murderous behavior towards Uriah (see above); instead, he humbled himself before his God and the Lord’s brave prophet. So what was the secret to David’s up and down relationship with the Lord. Unlike his favorable “press clippings,” David was no choir boy. But he had this one consistent quality throughout his entire walk with the Lord. Unlike Saul, his predecessor, David never violated what he knew to be God’s direct commands. He never carved out a course of his own where God’s rule of Israel through David was concerned. David was obedient. To be a “man after God’s own heart.” Therefore, means to stay the course, be loyal, and align yourself with the heart of God. God can work with people who make God’s agenda their own, and even when we fall short as David did, the Lord can put us back on course. See 1 Samuel 2:34.