David, King and Prophet

Shepherd of Bethlehem, ancestor of the Messiah · Feast: 28 December

David, King and Prophet
Gerard van Honthorst, King David Playing the Harp, oil on canvas, 1622, Centraal Museum, Utrecht, Netherlands. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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Word for the day

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1

Life

David, the youngest son of Jesse of Bethlehem, was a shepherd boy when the prophet Samuel anointed him as future king (1 Samuel 16). As a youth he defeated the Philistine Goliath, trusting in the Lord (1 Samuel 17).

After years as a fugitive from King Saul, he became king of Judah and then of all Israel, made Jerusalem his capital and brought the Ark of the Covenant there with dancing and joy (2 Samuel 6). God promised him through the prophet Nathan that his house and kingdom would endure for ever (2 Samuel 7).

David also sinned gravely with Bathsheba and against her husband Uriah. When Nathan confronted him, he repented (2 Samuel 12), and Psalm 51 is the Church's great prayer of repentance. Many psalms are attributed to him. Jesus, born in Bethlehem, is called the Son of David, and in Him God's promise is fulfilled.

Lessons

God looks at the heart

The youngest shepherd was chosen.

Trust in battle

The Lord saves, not sword and spear.

Repentance

A great sinner became a great penitent.

Praying the psalms

David's prayers are ours.

Stories

David and Goliath (history)

The young shepherd faced the giant with a sling and five stones, saying that the Lord does not save by sword and spear (1 Samuel 17:47).

You are the man (history)

The prophet Nathan told David a parable about a rich man who stole a poor man's lamb; when David was angry, Nathan said: you are the man. David repented (2 Samuel 12:7, 13).

Homily

1. The shepherd of Bethlehem

God chose the youngest.

2. Sin and repentance

Nathan and Psalm 51.

3. The Son of David

Fulfilled at Yaldo.

Dear friends, three days after Yaldo our Church remembers David, the shepherd of Bethlehem. God sent Samuel to anoint a king among Jesse's sons, and chose the youngest, who was with the sheep. The Lord looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7).

David trusted God against Goliath, and became a great king. Yet he also fell into terrible sin. When the prophet Nathan said to him: you are the man, David did not make excuses; he repented. Psalm 51 is the prayer of that repentance.

God promised David a kingdom without end. That promise is fulfilled in Jesus, born in David's town of Bethlehem, the true Good Shepherd and eternal King.

Let us pray David's psalms: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalm 23:1), and Have mercy on me, O God (Psalm 51). They teach us to trust and to repent. Amen.

Prayer

Lord God, who promised David a kingdom without end and fulfilled your promise in Jesus Christ, give us David's trust and repentant heart, and teach us to pray with his psalms. Amen.