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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadGreater Men and Women of the Bible by James Hastings: 291. The King
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The King
Literature
Bosanquet, C., “The Man after God's Own Heart” (1875), 207.
Chandler, S., A Critical History of the Life of David (1853), 208.
Devenish, E. I., Like Apples of Gold, 10.
Dieulafoy, M., David the King (1902), 129.
Edersheim, A., Israel under Samuel, Saul, and David, 162.
Ewald, H., The History of Israel, iii. 120.
Fleming, J. D., Israel's Golden Age (1907), 79.
Foakes-Jackson, F. J., The Biblical History of the Hebrews (1903), 165.
Geikie, C., Hours with the Bible: Samson to Solomon (1882), 183.
Kent, C. F., The Founders and Rulers of United Israel (1909), 126.
Kittel, R., A History of the Hebrews, ii. (1896) 150.
Krummacher, F. W., David, the King of Israel, 253.
Liddon, H. P., Sermons on Old Testament Subjects (1891), 138.
Little, W. J. K., David, The Hero-King of Israel (1903), 57.
Maclaren, A., Expositions: 2 Samuel, etc. (1906), 21.
Meyer, F. B., David (1910), 134.
Ottley, R. L., A Short History of the Hebrews (1901), 137.
Stanley, A. P., Lectures on the History of the Jewish Church, ii. (1889) 64.
Taylor, W. M., David, King of Israel (1894), 150.
Thomson, P., The Life of David (1881), 37.
Whitham, A. R., Old Testament History (1912), 231.
Seldom indeed has a king reached sovereign power in an important state in the manner in which David attained it. He was not called to be a ruler by hereditary right, and yet he constantly rose in power without entering into any conspiracy or practising any other hostile arts against the reigning dynasty; he was not summoned by a majority of votes to the throne of an avowedly elective monarchy (though no doubt the hereditary descent of the crown was less clearly defined than it is now), and yet he was finally acknowledged, spontaneously, and with enthusiastic love, by the whole people, as the only man worthy of being called to be their ruler; he was not thrown to the surface by the accident of a sudden revolution, and so possibly a mere child of fortune, immature and essentially incompetent: but in the fulness of time, and at the right moment, in perfect vigour of body and mind, he grasped the supremacy which was offered him, after having passed through every outward stage of power and honour, and every inward test of heavy trial and varied strife. But though he was the most worthy of gaining this prize and by far the greatest man of his time, yet both the real facts of the case and his own consciousness combined to warn him that he had reached this lofty position only by his reverence for the Holiness which had, once for all, been embodied in the community of Israel, while Saul, on the other hand, had fallen through despising it; and so he was clearly urged by the striking events of his past life, above all things to seek true welfare hereafter even on the “throne of Israel” in nothing but a faithful clinging to the “rock of Israel” and his “shining light,” and thus he might expect a more and more glorious development of the new period of his kingly career. For certainly his accession to the throne could not fail to be the beginning of fresh labours and struggles, even if of a different kind. The disintegrated and shattered kingdom must be reorganized, a firmer basis of monarchical rule must be laid down, many an ancient error must be atoned for, and many a grievous deficiency made up; and, since the neighbouring peoples would not look quietly upon so independent and mighty an upheaving of the nation, further and constantly extending wars were unavoidable; but all the toils and problems might prove the steps to power and glory which lay in the path before the new monarch. But now that, true to that Holiness, he had reached, by wise and persevering effort, the furthest point of the power and glory which was prepared for him-a point of dizzy height to which no member of the nation had ever climbed before-then at last the question had to be decided whether at this height he would still, as king, seek to be led by the same spirit of Jehovah that had raised him so far, or whether he would forsake that spirit and rely in his pride upon the power which his unprecedented greatness gave him. The way in which David stood this keenest test, a test which could be applied to him alone, determined the issue of his life, and his abiding significance for the history of the future.1 [Note: H. Ewald, The History of Israel, iii. 120.]
In dealing with the first and happiest part of David's life as king over all Israel, it will be convenient to keep his military exploits and his religious policy separate. But these two must both be taken into account before we can understand his career and appreciate his greatness.