THE FIRST PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
From David to the Captivity
Message Two—David (1)
Scripture Reading: Acts 13:22; 1 Sam. 16:10, 11, 13; 17:47, 49, 51; 2 Sam. 5:6-25; 11:1-27
I. David was the last in the age of the patriarchs and the first in the age of the kings; he ended one age and began another; he was the landmark between two ages—Matt. 1:6. (Truth Lessons, Lev. 1, vol. 1, lsn. 11)
II. David was prepared as a man according to God’s heart; he was chosen, trained, anointed, tested, and approved by God—Acts 13:22; 1 Sam. 16:10, 11, 13; 17:47: (Stewards of the Mysteries of God, msg. 29)
A. David was chosen by God; David’s family seemed not to care for him, but God was determined to use him, for He had chosen him—1 Sam. 16:1-10. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 12)
B. David was trained by God in humility through his circumstances; God purposely caused him to be born as the youngest one, the last one, to make him humble. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 12)
C. Samuel’s anointing David with oil was confirmed by the Spirit of Jehovah rushing upon him from that day; this rushing of the Spirit was related not to life for salvation but to power for outward activities—1 Sam. 16:13a. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 12)
D. As the sovereign One, God is above everything, behind everything, and in everything; in His sovereignty God prepared David to be a man according to His heart for His kingdom; He also prepared Saul to perfect David by testing him and putting him on trial: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 19:2, footnote 2)
1. Jonathan loved David like his own soul; while the father was persecuting David and plotting to kill him, his son was loving David to the uttermost—1 Sam. 18:1b, 3b. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 13)
2. Saul’s persecution of David was so severe that David was forced to disguise himself as a madman; it seemed as if there was no place for him in the land of Christ—1 Sam. 21:12-15. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 14)
3. David would not kill Saul but only cut off a corner of Saul’s cloak; David kept the God—ordained order of authority among God’s elect; by so doing, David laid a good foundation for himself to be the king of God’s elect in the coming days—1 Sam. 24:1-6. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 14)
4. David was very different from Saul; David knew only to behave and to have his being according to God’s heart; he had no feeling for himself; rather, he knew only to labor and conduct himself for God’s people and God’s kingdom. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 13)
5. Finally, David’s God-fearing and God-honoring life subdued the reckless Saul and stopped Saul from pursuing him; in his relationship with Saul, David is a very good pattern for us in the church life today—1 Sam. 24:16-22. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 14)
E. After David passed through all the trials and was approved by God, he was crowned by the tribe of Judah—2 Sam. 2:10b-11. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 20)
III. David’s being crowned by the people to be the king for the kingdom of God on the earth; with David, God did everything to establish and exalt him and his kingdom—2 Sam. 5:6-25; 11:1-27: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msgs. 20-21)
A. David was one with God; what was his was God’s, and what was God’s was his; David and God had only one kingdom—Acts 13:22, 36. (Stewards of the Mysteries of God, msg. 29)
B. David was established by God as king with his kingdom exalted for the sake of God’s people Israel—2 Sam. 5:6-25: (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 21)
1. David’s kingdom was established by God, for the sake of God’s people—2 Sam. 5:6-25. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 21)
2. We need to learn that if we do anything for ourselves, God will not exalt us, but if we live our lives for God’s kingdom and God’s people, God will exalt us for His people’s sake. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 21)
3. We need to realize that whatever God does for us and whatever He gives to us should be altogether for our concern for the building up of God’s dwelling place on earth. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 22)
C. David typifies the Lord Jesus as a man in His suffering on earth before His resurrection; David’s suffering was for the conquering of the usurping enemies and the gaining of the good land, the ground for God’s building—Psa. 69:1-9: (Stewards of the Mysteries of God, msg. 29)
1. David typifies Christ from His incarnation with His God—man living and sufferings to His death (from the manger to the cross)—Matt. 12:3-4; 22:41-46. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)
2. David suffered from his youth, yet through his suffering he prepared the materials, gained the proper ground for the building of the temple, and prepared Solomon, the builder, and all the helpers—1 Chron. 21:18-30; 2 Chron. 3:1; 1 Chron. 28:9-11, 20-21. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)
3. David’s preparation in his affliction, in his trials, and in the victory of his fightings typifies Christ’s rich provision for the building of the church of God in His trials and in His victory in His life of fighting against Satan with his power of darkness—Matt. 4:4, 7, 10; 12:28. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)
4. David’s preparing of the materials in abundance for the building up of the temple of God typifies Christ’s providing for the building of the church of God with His unsearchable riches—1 Chron. 18:7-11; 22:2-5, 14-16a; 28:2; 29:2-9; cf. Eph. 3:8-10. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)
5. David charged God’s people that “today” if we hear His voice, not to harden our hearts, but to allow the word of God to divide our soul from our spirit so that we may enter into the all—inclusive Christ as the good land, the Sabbath rest, for the building of the house of God—Heb. 4:7-13. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)
D. Although David had the opportunity, saw the need, and had the ability to build the temple of God, he stopped when God’s word came to him; his stopping established a twofold testimony in the universe—first, all the work in this universe should come from God, not from man; second, all that matters is what God does for man, not what man does for God—2 Sam. 7:18, 25, 27; 1 Chron. 22:7-19. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)
E. After all the enemies of Israel were subdued and David was exalted as the king of Israel, David committed a great sin while he was in a peaceful situation; this indicates that whenever we are at ease in a peaceful situation, it is easy for us to be seduced to indulge our flesh—2 Sam. 11:2-5: (Holy Bible Recovery Version, 1 Sam. 11:4, footnote 1)
1. Ease is a big spoiler; we need to labor, toil, and suffer; Instead of damaging us, suffering is a help to us; we need to be occupied with either laboring or suffering. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 33)
2. David committed a willful adultery by robbery, abusing the power of his kingship; this was a real insult to God; David’s great sin nearly annulled all his attainments from the past—2 Sam. 11:4-5. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msg. 33)
3. We need to learn of David on the negative side as well as on the positive side; all the saints, especially the young ones, should search their hearts and make a strong resolution of heart never to go the way of the indulgence of the flesh—Judg. 5:15-16. (Life-Study of 1 & 2 Samuel，msgs. 33-34)
F. Because David was a man according to God’s heart, even his failures gave God a way to display His far—reaching mercy and heart of love (1 Sam. 13:14); the builder of the temple and the site of the temple both came out of David’s being forgiven of his sins and out of what God did for David—2 Sam. 12:24-25; 24:1-10; 2 Chron. 3:1; Psa. 51:1-2, 10-12, 17-18. (The Intrinsic Significance of the Church as the Temple of God—the Goal of God’s Eternal Economy, msg. 4)