Free Sunday School lesson for pre-teens, teens, and young adults on the importance of loving God: lessons from a man after God’s own heart
Why did God love David so much? It was because David loved God.
He was by no means perfect, but God referred to him as a man after God’s own heart. For generations thereafter, God would think of David when deciding to have mercy on Israel and David’s descendants (1 Kings 11:12-13 KJV; 2 Kings 8:19 KJV).
What does it mean to be someone after God’s own heart?
In short, it means to have a heart like God, to look at things the way God sees them, to love what God loves, and hate what he hates. Most importantly, it means to think about God the way God thinks about himself.
People – Christians especially – put God in a box of how we think he should be.
David didn’t. He praised God for who God is. Look at all the Psalms that he wrote.
This is why, when David messed up, he received grace. He was still favored, despite the awful, death-worthy things that he did. But, look at how David behaved when confronted (2 Samuel 12 KJV). Unlike most people, who would be concerned about people finding out (Saul – 1 Samuel 15:22-31 KJV), David was most concerned with what God thought.
A closer look at David’s great sin:
We consider David’s sin so awful (and it was), but all sin in God’s sight is heinous, especially sins against God. If you look at the order of the 10 commandments (Exodus 20:1-17 KJV), how people treat God is at the top of the list.
As humans, we often look at the sins against other humans as the worst that can be committed. Those sins against God are bad (Saul sacrificing when it wasn’t his place, Uzzah touching the Ark of the Covenant, David numbering the people, etc.), but deep down, many think that God should get over it. He’s overreacting. It isn’t that big of a deal – because it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to us humans.
David had what God thought in mind, and he thought less of sins against other people. He was king, after all.
In most kingdoms, kings lived like gods, taking and doing whatever they pleased, no matter how ridiculous or barbaric (Nebuchadnezzar, Genghis Khan, Nero, etc.). So, David did not think much of what he did (taking another man’s wife then killing him) until realizing how he, as having a testimony of being godly, had made God look bad with his actions.
Christians should take this to heart.
The world doesn’t have such high expectations for Pagan kings. However, a king who is known for having a heart like God has very different expectations.
Christians have expectations for how they should behave, whether the world will admit it or not.
To this day, David is known by his failures, and many use David’s actions as an excuse to speak against God, just as God said would happen (2 Samuel 12:14 KJV).
They neglect the fact that God did judge David, because they feel that God’s judgment should have been harsher, as was the case with God’s law. They condemn God for showing mercy.
David’s punishment was great, and he even testifies that he would have rather died than have everything happen to him that happened (2 Samuel 18:33 KJV). But, the truth of the matter was, there wasn’t another king like David, someone who put God above all else. God wanted to keep him alive, to keep him on the throne until another godly man could be born to take his place.
But, being a just God, he could not let it slide.
Your sin will find you out (Numbers 32:23 KJV).
A closer look at why David was so favored:
David even testified himself that God liked him (1 Chronicles 28:4 KJV).
Parents love their children, just as God loves all his children. But, parents do have favorites, and although they may always love their children, they may not always like them. (Favorites can change, by the way, as I have experienced with my own parents.)
So, what exactly did David do to make God like him?
1. David was faithful, even in the little things like being a shepherd.
David made sure his sheep were taken care of. (1 Samuel 16:11; 17:20, 29 KJV). Jesus said that whosoever is faithful in little, is faithful in much (Luke 16:10 KJV). Because David was faithful with those sheep in the wilderness, God knew he would be faithful with the kingdom.
2. David loved God’s word.
Spending time with God in his word is the best way to become more like God. We don’t need to try and control our anger or our mouths. By spending time with God, those changes will come naturally (Psalm 119:9 KJV). The longest chapter in the Bible (Psalm 119 KJV) was written by David about his love and respect for God’s word.
3. David was in awe of God and all God had done.
It is impossible to read the Psalms written by David and not get a sense for how amazed he was at God’s creation (Psalm 19, 24 KJV) and simply how great God is (Psalm 8 KJV). The old saying is true – People talk about what they love. David wrote at least 73 Psalms where he is expressly given credit. His Psalms praise God and all God has done. In Psalm 23 KJV and Psalm 18 KJV, David acknowledges God’s protection and provision, giving God all the credit for the good that has happened in his life. He never forgot where God found him.
4. David wanted to serve God.
Once again, we see a snapshot into David’s heart in Psalm 84:1-2, 10 KJV where he claims serving God as a servant is better than being a ruler or king. When he sinned in numbering the people and had to offer a sacrifice, he tells Ornan that he would not serve the Lord for what would cost him nothing (1 Chronicles 21:24 KJV). Serving God meant something to David, and he was more than willing to sacrifice for God’s sake.
5. David had a humble heart.
He did not think highly of himself. When Saul was hunting him down, David considered himself a dog and even a flea that did not warrant being chased down (2 Samuel 24:14 KJV). He did not consider himself worthy to be the king’s son-in-law (1 Samuel 18:14-23 KJV), having been a lowly shepherd boy for so long. He behaved wisely (1 Samuel 18:14-15 KJV) and was not lifted up in his heart like Saul, who for a time had been humble (2 Samuel 15:17 KJV).
When he had every right to kill Saul, he didn’t because he respected God’s order. God had been the one to raise Saul up, so God would have to be the one to kill him. David was afraid of overstepping God’s boundaries and harming someone who had been anointed by the Lord (1 Samuel 26:9-11 KJV).
When David fought Goliath, it had nothing to do with his desire to be great or to be rewarded. He was amazed that this Philistine would speak out against the God of Israel. David wanted to shut him up for the sake of protecting God’s name and honor, and he was amazed that no other soldier had stepped up before him (1 Samuel 17:3-54 KJV), which brings me to my next point.
6. David trusted God completely, including accepting God’s judgment, whatever it was.
He did not get upset when God did not allow him to build the tabernacle for having shed blood. Instead, he decided to do what he could to serve God in preparing materials for the tabernacle (1 Chronicles 22:7-19 KJV).
Even more impressive, when Absolom was coming to take the kingdom, David left his home in order to protect the lives of people in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 15:14 KJV). He ordered that the Ark of the Covenant be left because, if God was through with David, then so be it. The Ark should remain in Jerusalem for God to continue receiving worship (2 Samuel 15:24-26 KJV). He allowed himself to be cursed by Shimei, claiming that God may have arranged such a cursing (2 Samuel 16:5-13 KJV).
It is impossible to read the Bible and all the Psalms and not understand that David loved God with all his heart, despite his terrible mistakes and shortcomings.
How can you and I also love God the way David did?
It’s quite simple and laid out fairly plainly in the Bible. God lays out a blueprint in his book because he wants to favor us. The more time we spend with God, the more we come to appreciate and love him.
All those lonely nights David spent as a shepherd boy was spent with God, praising and talking to the creator of the universe. David wasn’t alone because he read God’s word so often that he appreciated it until the end of his days.
If we follow God’s blueprint, we too can become one of God’s favorites. He reciprocates, just as all people do. If you love, value, and respect him, he will do the same for you.
Spend time in God’s word, listening to him and obeying him, and these changes in your heart will begin to happen on their own.
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