Today we are continuing with our summer message series, “David for King.” In this series we are exploring the life of one of the most important people in the Old Testament, King David. David was not the first king of Israel, but he is definitely the most important king. Every book of the Old Testament written after King David make reference to him. David had such an impact on the history of Israel that he became the gold standard. To understand David and his story, is to understand the heart of the story that's the Old Testament and the work of preparation it represents for the coming of Christ. 

David is a complex, fascinating leader. David remains one of the most transparent, commanding figures in the Bible. In both his gifts and his flaws, we see a man of God who grows into a great leader. When we started talking about David, he was the youngest son of a rancher from a hick town called Bethlehem. There was nothing “noble” about him. He really comes to the attention of King Saul when he defeats the Philistine champion, Goliath. He becomes the head of the Israelite army and is very successful – in fact, he is too successful. King Saul becomes jealous of David and tries to have him killed. David flees, and is on the run for about 10 years, gathering a band of men who are not very happy with King Saul’s increasingly poor leadership. While David has the opportunity to kill King Saul on a couple of occasions, he will not harm God’s anointed. David knows that God has promised that he would become king, and he trusts that God will bring that about in His own way.

Well the day finally comes. The Bible says that in the heat of an ill-advised battle, King Saul is fatally wounded. After his death, there's a power vacuum. Half the country rallies around Saul's son and half around David. But David grows stronger and stronger in the process. David became more powerful because God was with him. It's a pattern and it's simple as can be. Before David did anything, he stopped, he paused, he prayed, he asked God, "What do you want me to do?" And you know what? That's a prayer God always answers.

Then David did something that we don't do often enough. He did what God told him to do. And then he was successful. The Bible tells us, "The elders of Israel came to the king, and King David made a covenant with them in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel." Anointing also symbolizes it is God who chooses David.

David makes two executive decisions. First decision, he decides to relocate the capital of Israel from where it had been, a place called Hebron, to the city of Jerusalem. Jerusalem would have been considered a neutral city among all of the 12 tribes. And by moving the capital there, David demonstrates his desire to be an impartial ruler of all the people. Moving the capital also showed him to be firmly in command of the nation.

David's second major decision is to bring the Ark of the Covenant to the new capital. The Bible tells us that the Ark of the Covenant was a chest Moses ordered built during the exodus of Israel from Egypt. The chest contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments, as well as some of the preserved manna or bread that was miraculously given in the desert to the people of Israel. The Ark was considered the holiest object in the kingdom. The holy of holies, the presence of God Himself among them. Precisely like the tabernacle in our own church.

David wanted to bring the ark to Jerusalem to underscore that God is present with His people, that God makes His home with His people, and that He is really the head and the leader of the nation. As the priests carry the Ark into Jerusalem, Scriptures says, “David and all the house of Israel danced before the Lord with all their might.” Such dancing was not something a king would normally do, and the Bible says, "Michal, daughter of King Saul, looked down from her window, and when she saw King David jumping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him with all her heart." 

Michal was David’s first wife, and when he got home she said to him, "How well the king of Israel has honored himself today, exposing himself to the view of his followers, as a commoner might expose himself." David tells her that he has no reason to be embarrassed for celebrating before the Lord.

Consider the situation. David has just become king and he had to fight his way to get there. Now he's the most powerful person in the land and one of the most powerful figures on earth. The pressure to look and behave nobly and regally must have been great. Expectations were high. All eyes were on him. And what does he do? He dances in the street like a child out of uninhibited joy. He's completely vulnerable before all the people, and nobody had ever seen a king act like that. This vulnerability shows David’s trust in God.

God reminds David of His faithfulness in the past. It was God who freed Israel from slavery in Egypt. It was God who led them through the desert. It was God who defeated the giant, Goliath. It was God who formed the Israelites into a nation, and so it is God who will build David a kingdom. The success of David's kingdom will not be determined by David's power nor by his ingenuity or wisdom or eloquence or even his good looks. The kingdom will be built on David's trust in the power of God.

A great leader, in God's eyes, is someone, anyone who trusts Him greatly. And God promises David a throne that will last forever. But we know that historically, David's kingdom came to a very definite end around the year 585. So what happened to that promise, to that pledge? A thousand years after David, a son is born to the house of David, in the city of David, and he's called the son of David, the Christ, which means the anointed one. Jesus is the anointed successor of King David. And his kingdom is the church, and that kingdom will last forever.

From David's ascent to the throne, we learn a few things about leadership as God calls us to lead. The first thing we learn that thinking strategically is not opposed to spirituality. David was strategic in moving the capital to Jerusalem. Being strategic and spiritually minded are actually compatible and complementary.

Next, David balanced great strength with great worship. Worship and prayer require vulnerability, humility, effort. Men and women after God's own heart worship God wholeheartedly. Yup, that means they are not afraid to sing at Mass.

Finally, there's no leadership in God's kingdom without trust. God wants your trust. God seeks your trust. It's prerequisite for Him working and operating in your life. God wants you to trust Him with good and great things like your marriage, your kids, your career, your time, and talent, and treasure. God wants you to trust Him with important things like that so that you can be the leader He wants you to be.

Heavenly Father, give us hearts like the heart of David, hearts fully devoted to You and Your will. Help us to think strategically when it comes to following Your will in our lives. Lead us to worship You with our whole heart. And in all we do, teach us to trust You in everything. We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.