“A man after God’s own heart”?
Have you ever wondered how it is that King David is referred to as “a man after God’s own heart” in 1 Samuel 13:14? Especially given that he broke about half of the Big Ten commandments on one particularly sultry afternoon?
Wanting what God wants
While I can’t say for sure, I wonder if we’re to take that phrase quite literally - David was “after” (meaning that he pursued) God’s heart. He wanted to know what God thought, believed, valued. He was willing to change courses once he knew that. Obviously he didn’t do that perfectly - none of us except Jesus ever have or will. Like any of us, once he stopped pursuing the heart of God, he could be off track in a hot minute. Way off track! But just like in Matthew 5:8 where Jesus blesses the “pure in heart,” I don’t think He’s talking about perfection at all. I believe both phrases simply mean wanting what God wants more than anything else - or at least wanting to want what God wants more than anything else…
Relying on the Almighty
That overarching desire shows up in David’s life in some pretty awe-inspiring ways. David had remarkable success as a military leader, but over and over again, he refused to rely on his own experience, consistently deferring to The Smartest One in the Room, who is always the Lord and never us. 1 Samuel 30:8 is just one example of that. God gave David different military strategies in different situations… quite possibly simply because David bothered to ask! David seems to have worked hard at NOT assuming that what worked last time would work this time. He actually did what many of us memorized as one of our first Bible verses: he “leaned not on his own understanding” a la Proverbs 3:5-6. Anyone who’s able to resist self-reliance - especially anyone who’s had noteworthy success - is a man after God’s heart.
Loving the enemy
Nobody reveals God’s own heart better than God incarnate, Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount might be the Magna Carta of the heart of God. Try actually following it… in detail… for even 24 hours… and you’ll quickly recognize your need for a Savior! I call as my first witness - Matthew 5:44 and its neighbors. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Did anyone in the Bible do that more often than David - even when he clearly didn’t want to?
King Saul repeatedly paid David back for David’s loyalty by trying to kill him. Twice it appeared to everyone around David that God had clearly delivered Saul into David’s hand so that he could dispatch with his enemy once and for all. To everyone’s amazement - especially Saul’s - David refused to do so. In 1 Samuel 24:19, Saul says to David, “Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power?” Amazing.
Yet David’ humanity is quite evident as soon as we enter the next chapter of the Bible. Nabal was a wealthy hot-headed fool, who repaid David and his men’s kindness by publicly humiliating them. Everyone around Nabal knew that he’d just signed his own death certificate, and David vowed revenge. Yet… David, as a habit, was willing to pursue God’s own heart even when it conflicted with his own. Abigail, who was not Nabal’s “better half” but more like “better 99.9%” talked David out of the revenge he was minutes away from executing. David heard the voice of God through the wisdom of Abigail, which is all the more remarkable in a culture that so regularly devalued women.
I’m encouraged that a person as imperfect as David could receive such high praise from His Maker and Lord. I, too, want to want to want what God wants more than anything else.
