David

God allowed Israel to have king, so that they would learn that political and military power is not a solution.

Saul started off as a humble honest man. He seemed like a perfect person to be king. Yet he was quickly corrupted by political power.
David was a good man with good heart. His love for God was amazing. He wrote very beautiful Psalms. He could only have done that by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

David was a successful military leader. He defeated the Jebusites and freed Jerusalem (2 Sam 4:6-10). He expanded Israel’s borders and defeated all of its enemies.

The LORD gave David victory wherever he went (2 Sam 8:14).

David was accepted as king by everyone.

David reigned over all Israel (2 Sam 8:15).

Unfortunately, military and political power usually corrupts a good person, so David was a disaster as a king.

• David took responsibility for administering justice in Israel. That was not his role, because God had entrusted justice to judges that he would raise up from among the people.

• David administered judgment and justice to all his people (2 Sam 8:15).

• David was a military leader, not a judge. (Some translations insert the word “fairness” or “right” in 2 Sam 8:15, but the word is not there in the Hebrew text).

• Kings like to control justice, because it means that if they harm their people, they have no legal redress, because the king decides the case, and he will not decide against himself. This is not God’s way.

• The people of Judah struggled to obtain justice while David was king (2 Sam 15:2-6). Absalom made himself popular by promising the people justice.

• David used the “forced labour” of his people to advance his building projects.

  Adoram was in charge of forced labour (2 Sam 20:24).

  This enforced slavery was forbidden by the law of Moses.

• David imposed harsh taxes to fund his building projects (2 Sam 8:2,6). One reason for this census was to measure the potential for raising taxes (2 Sam 24:2).

• David engaged in random killing of the soldiers that he defeated.

  David also defeated the Moabites. Then he made their soldiers lie down on the ground, and he measured them off with a rope. He would measure off two lengths of the rope and have those men killed, then he would measure off one length and let those men live (2 Sam 8:2).

• David’s produced a dysfunctional family. One son raped his half-sister. Another son killed the culprit (2 Sam 13). David avoided these family issues and the bad behaviour continued after his death.

• David stole the wife of one of a David betrayed a loyal soldier who was away from home fighting and committed adultery with his wife (2 Sam 11:2-4).

• David arranged for the soldier he betrayed to be murdered, so that his own sin would not be exposed. He got his victim to carry the letter with instructions to arrange his death (2 Sam 11:12-18).

• When David organised a census to count the men of fighting age, he was putting his trust his own power, rather than God. When the prophet offered him a choice in the consequences of this sin, he chose a plague upon his people, rather than harm for himself (2 Sam 24:11). Only when he saw the people suffering did he realise this was wrong, because he was the one who had sinned (2 Sam 24:17).

A president or prime minister who did all these things would be chucked out at the next election.

When people gain political power, the spiritual powers of evil come in force against them. They identify their weaknesses and turn it to their advantage. By manipulating a political leader, they amplify their power in the nation.