Fully Devoted: Israel, Act 1Sample

A Promised Messiah

It was a long journey for David to finally become king. But all throughout that journey, David remained faithful and obedient to God. He was a man after God’s own heart. He was the kind of king willing to trust and follow God wherever He led. 

David is considered to be the greatest king Israel has ever known. So much so, that God Himself chose to form a special covenant with him, promising that his dynasty would be established and his kingdom would endure forever. 

God was promising David that eventually the Messiah would come from his family. 

“‘… The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:11-16 NIV

Here’s the question for today: What made David so special? Why was he able to succeed where Saul—and so many of the kings who would follow after him—failed? And as followers of Jesus, how can we learn from David’s example to live faithfully and obediently in our world today? 

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts 13:22 NIV

The answer to our question is found in this verse right here. David was a man after God’s own heart. He did everything God wanted him to do. 

John, a disciple of Jesus, wrote:

In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. ... 1 John 5:3 NIV

Some have said that God’s love language is obedience. This is what David did more than any other king—he remained obedient to the commands of God. He did whatever God asked him to do. And because of that, God promised David that his throne and kingdom would be established forever.

From the beginning, God’s desire has always been to partner with people to accomplish His purposes. But because of our selfish desires, we turn our backs on God and try to do things our way. But David was different. He trusted God and he served God. He trusted God when he confronted Goliath. He served God when he was running for his life in the wilderness. And that trust and devotion didn’t stop when he became king. 

Why is obedience so hard? Most of us don’t really trust God as much as we say we do. We don’t really believe that God’s commands are for our good. Instead of trusting that God’s commands bring freedom and purpose, we see them as restrictive and limiting. It’s really hard to be obedient to God when we are unwilling to humble ourselves enough to actually trust that He knows better than we do. 

And that’s what set David apart. Even after becoming king, he still remained that humble shepherd boy who trusted God more than he trusted himself. 

That humility is put on full display in David’s response to God’s promise to him: 

… Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” 2 Samuel 7:18 NIV

Journaling Questions

• Write down a verse (or verses) from today’s reading. What stands out to you about that verse? 
• Take a trust inventory. How do you know you trust someone? What are some things that are true about your relationships when trust is present? What about when trust is absent? 
• What do you think obedience has to do with trust? What do you think obedience has to do with love? Describe these connections in your own words.

Memory Verse

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome ... 1 John 5:1-3 NIV