King of Hearts

David, one of the beloved and colourful characters of the Bible is the most famous ancestor of Jesus Christ, and a prominent figure in world history. David’s life was a strange mixture of good and evil, and probably no Bible character more fully illustrates the moral range of human nature. His life was marked by noble deeds, fine aspirations, and incredible accomplishments. He was an athlete and warrior, a fine musician, a poetic genius, a successful military leader, an able administrator, and considered the greatest king of Israel. He was a Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali, Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, a Field Marshal Montgomery, a Mozart and Lloyd Webber, a Keats and Byron, all rolled into one man. Yet, his life was stained with gross personal sin. He was also the man who committed adultery and murder and then tried to cover up his crime. He fell short as a father, and as a result of a wrong decision, was responsible for God’s judgment on his nation. But this is much more than an historical study. It is an examination of the heart, where we shall see qualities of faith and courage, teachability and humility, openness and honesty, as well as weaknesses and failures, complexities and inconsistencies. The heart of this book includes vignettes of the struggles, disappointments and failures before finding success, fulfillment and hope. God is in the restoration business and can resuscitate and resurrect that which seems lost. David is known as “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). To know more about what God considers in a man’s heart, and to learn from these experiences, are reasons enough to study this fascinating character. And there is more. It is a spiritual excursion, as King David points us towards the advent of Messiah, the “Son of David,” fulfilled in the person of Jesus, the Christ and Saviour, who truly is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. As God seems to place a high premium on the condition of the heart, this forms the basis of our reflection. It is the message of this book, that as we discover the rule of the Kingship of Jesus in our hearts, we begin to discover and experience God’s purpose for our lives. It is my hope that our lives can be transformed so that we can be known as people — men, women and children — after God’s own heart. It is making this prayer of David, our own. Search me, O God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23,24).