EXPOSITORY ARTICLE | Wayne Goff | Franklin, North Carolina
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets.” (Hebrews 11:32)
David’s Faith
The Hebrew writer simply refers to David as one of many ancient heroes of faith in this chapter. We find it amazing that such a central figure in the Old Testament is so briefly mentioned, but the writer has already exceeded the space given to him by the Holy Spirit to write about faith, and I suspect that he knew the readers were extremely familiar with David. He was the epitome of Israelite kings, and the one who best prefigured Jesus Christ, King of kings!
What evidence do we have of David’s great faith? It appears throughout the biblical record, so let’s begin with our introduction to David. David is the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. After God rejected King Saul because of his insolence, God directed Samuel to anoint a son of Jesse to be the next king (1 Samuel 16:1-13). All of the obvious choices among Jesse’s sons were rejected by God through Samuel. The Lord explained to Samuel, “…Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Note carefully the point: “the Lord looks at the heart.” Men choose a king based on height, beauty, strength, overall appearance as a man. King Saul had all of these qualities and failed miserably as a king. Nothing has changed over the last 3,000 years, because brethren in the church often use the same criteria to choose elders and preachers. If only we would look at the heart, for this is the seat of great faith in man!
David consequently was called by God “a man after My own heart, who will do all My will” (Acts 13:22). David was a youth, of ruddy appearance, with bright eyes, and good looking (1 Samuel 16:12), but he did not appear to man to be of royal stature. God saw more deeply into the character of David, and knew that David would do all God’s will. He was a young man of a humble, but courageous heart.
“Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward…” (1 Samuel 16:13). God had given the same Spirit to King Saul, but when he was rejected by God, then “the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him” (1 Samuel 16:14). We learn some valuable lessons from this exchange. First, whatever power King Saul received from the Holy Spirit, it did not affect his free will. Saul could still choose between right and wrong, between strong faith and weak faith, between courage and cowardice. Therefore, David’s free will was intact as well. Strong faith comes from deep conviction, and David had both. King Saul
walked by sight and not by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). Second, great faith is the result of great trust in God. We tend to look to ourselves to resolve our problems, and as a result are full of anxiety, fear and doubt. In every instance of David’s life, there is evidence that he was looking to God for a solution to his problems. The one exception to this was his heinous sin with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah to cover it up! But this was not the rule in David’s life. God’s great patience, longsuffering and forgiving disposition spared David from capital punishment (2 Samuel 12:13) and perhaps there is a lesson even in this for all of us! God is willing to forgive men of great faith, and we see this in Moses, David and later in Saul of Tarsus. He will forgive us if we will continue to trust and obey (1 John 1:7-9).
David’s faith was tested early in life when he was a shepherd for his father’s sheep. We do not have a record of these events, but David told King Saul that he was able to go into battle to defeat the uncircumcised Philistine, Goliath, because “…your servant used to keep his father’s sheep, and when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it, and delivered the lamb from its mouth; and when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard, and struck and killed it” (1 Samuel 17:34-35). David did not attribute his ability to his own strength, but rather was explaining to the king that his abilities came from God! We know this because the very next verse in the text says, “Your servant has killed both lion and bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, seeing he has defied the armies of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:36)! The only connection between Goliath and David’s ability as a shepherd was God. Goliath was blaspheming the name of the Lord, and David was ready to put his life on
the line to defend it. That, my dear readers, is FAITH! David was not focused on himself, but on the Lord and His chosen people, Israel. So here is another lesson of faith from David. David’s faith caused him to look upward to God and not to focus on himself. “Blessed are the poor in spirit (the humble, wg), for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). This literally came true for David, and it is spiritually true for us today.
David’s faith was tested again when King Saul turned against him and determined to kill him because he knew that God had anointed him as king in his place (1 Samuel 15:23, 35; 18:12). Repeatedly King Saul had tried to kill David with his spear (1 Samuel 18:11; 19:10), and made a royal decree to put David to death (1 Samuel 19:1-6), and even hoped that giving to David his daughter Michal, as a troubling enemy (1 Samuel 18:21), would secure his death. Yet in all of these things David behaved wisely toward both King Saul and all of Israel’s enemies (1 Samuel 18:14-15, 30) since God was with him and he was trusting in God. Nonetheless, David had to run for his life continually until King Saul finally died. On one occasion, David said to Jonathan, “…But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death” (1 Samuel 20:3). Would you and I not take advantage of any opportunity to kill and defeat an enemy of ours like this? But David refused to lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:1-7). We see in this a strong faith that would trust in God for deliverance rather than himself. David explained his own faith to King Saul on this occasion:
“Let the Lord judge between you and me, and let the Lord avenge me on you. But my hand shall not be against you. As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Wickedness proceeds from the wicked.’ But my hand shall not be against you. After whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A flea? Therefore let the Lord be judge, and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case, and deliver me out of your hand.” (1 Samuel 24:12-15)
David knew that it was not his right to kill King Saul, even though it would have been to his own advantage. David was a step away from death, and yet he would not deliver his own life by unjust means. We should take a lesson from David and learn to trust in God more than men. Like David, we should use wisdom and discretion and be wise as serpents but harmless as doves. But we should never take matters into our own hands when we know that God will avenge us of our enemies (Romans 12:19-20). It takes great faith to act as David did.
“Then Abishai said to David, ‘God has delivered your enemy into your hand this day. Now therefore, please, let me strike him at once with the spear, right to the earth; and I will not have to strike him a second time!’ But David said to Abishai, ‘Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?’ David said furthermore, ‘As the Lord lives, the Lord shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish. The Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed…” (1 Samuel 26:8-11).
Once again we see illustrated David’s faith in God to protect him from his enemies and to bring Saul’s life to an end in God’s own time. Patience and longsuffering were learned by David as he waited on God to deliver him from King Saul. We, too, must learn endurance and longsuffering as we wait on God to deliver us from the insults, persecutions, and tumults of life (James 1:2-5). It is not the easy road to take, but it is the road followed as we walk by faith!
David’s Faith As King
Everything we have written thus far has proved and illustrated David’s great faith and helped us to appreciate the truth that David was a man after God’s own heart. Yet David still has not become the active king of Israel. After the death of King Saul, David inquires of God as to where he should go and what he should do (2 Samuel 2:1-7). God sends him to Hebron where he is anointed king by his own tribe of Judah. But David must once again learn to be patient, as the rest of Israel anointed Ishbosheth, a living son of Saul, as king (2 Samuel 2:8-10). David was king in Hebron for seven and one-half years, patiently waiting to be made head over all Israel at God’s decree (2 Samuel 2:11). Dear readers, let us consider our own patience. Sometimes we want what we want and we want it right now! But if God can take such a long time to place David over all Israel as king, then who are we to demand anything before its appointed time? Once again, it takes faith (trust, wisdom, knowledge) to wait on the Lord for His answer!
Finally, after the death of Ishbosheth and his general, Abner, the tribes of Israel came to David and anointed him as king over all Israel. The leaders recognized God’s appointment of David and said “…the LORD said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and be ruler over Israel’” (2 Samuel 5:2). “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years” (2 Samuel 5:4).
David soon conquered the Jebusites and made Jerusalem his capital city, and it was called “the City of David” (2 Samuel 5:9). “So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him” (2 Samuel 5:10). David was a great
ing and warrior because God was with him and he was with God! Today the Lord says to us, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded” (James 4:7-8). By doing these things we are declaring to ourselves and to the world that we have faith in God. We have a faith that trusts in God’s morals, God’s values, God’s wisdom, and God’s revealed knowledge. We resist the Devil while drawing near to God by the choices we make and by the things we do.
David’s Faith Rewarded
After God had given David rest from his enemies, David had time to reflect on the fact that his personal house was better than the Lord’s house (2 Samuel 7:1-3). Do we care about the Lord’s house as much as did King David? We do if we have a faith like David’s. David determined to build the Lord a beautiful temple, and the prophet Nathan encouraged him to do it (2 Samuel 7:3). However, God rejected David’s plan because David was a man who had shed much blood as warrior and king (1 Chronicles 22:7-8). Nonetheless David collected much of the material that would be needed when his son, Solomon, built the temple after him (1 Chronicles 22:5). This demonstrated David’s faith even in a time of personal disappointment. David never complained, but glorified God even further when the Lord informed David that his family would be an eternal dynasty in Israel!
The greatest reward for David’s life of faith was given him when the Lord promised that the Messiah would descend from his body!
“When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his Father, and he shall be My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever,” (2 Samuel 7:12-16)
What an unbelievable honor David received from God! 2 Samuel 7:18-29 contains David’s prayer of faith and gratitude for this great blessing. Read it carefully and consider his words. David knew that all he had accomplished, and all that he possessed, was a blessing from God. As God had said to him, “‘…I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel” (2 Samuel 7:8). God had chosen David. David did not choose himself. David was humbly grateful. So should we be in our salvation, providential blessings, and length of life! It is all a gift from God, undeserved by us! Let us offer to God our prayers of thanksgiving like David and Solomon did in their lives!
David’s Sins
We often ask how a man like David, a man after God’s own heart, could commit the sin of adultery with Bathsheba and then murder her husband, Uriah the Hittite, to cover it up! These things are so repugnant to us that we have a hard time understanding it. The Word of God does not tell us how this happened.
But we know that David’s faith was strong, that the Spirit of the Lord rested upon him, and that he was successful in all he did. Nonetheless this did not prevent temptation from overcoming him when he gave in to the thought and desire. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). And Jesus told the Twelve, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak’” (Matthew 26:41). The lusts of the eye and the flesh are so strong that we must ever be on guard against them! David obviously let his guard down and gave in to that which he knew to be wrong. Sin blinds the eyes, deceives the heart, and promises good in the place of evil. Unfortunately, David suffered greatly the rest of his life for these transgressions.
When confronted by Nathan the prophet with his guilt, David confessed, repented and was forgiven by God. Though God always prefers obedience over sacrifice, He saw the penitence of David and forgave him. Psalm 51 is an apt description of David’s sorrow, shame and cry for help! “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). This is the cry of help from the helpless in the midst of guilt and shame! David had no one to whom he could turn but God, and once again, true to his character, he trusted in God in the darkest time of his life! You and I can be so overcome with guilt and remorse from our own sins that we can entertain the thought that we are no longer worthy of God’s forgiveness. This might cause us, in turn, to give up our faith and turn to the Devil’s den. Dear readers, do not let it be so. Our salvation is dependent on God and we must learn to trust Him in our darkest hours of shame and guilt. It is hard to do, but as Peter said long ago: “…Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Our faith must be sufficiently strong that we can believe that God can forgive the worst of sins, if only we will confess them and turn away from them. Do you have that much faith? Judas Iscariot did not. Many brethren have lost their souls eternally because they have turned away from God because of their own hopeless faith.
Looking over the life of David, we see that our own journey of faith is a road of many highs and lows. It does not take much faith to enjoy the highs of salvation, love, and benevolence. But we need a great faith to overcome the lows of sin, sorrow, and shame. When you are in the darkest hours of life, always look to the Son-light and trust in Him. He loves you. He died for you. He arose to be King of kings and Lord of lords. He is also your great High Priest Who ever lives to intercede on your behalf. So rather than look to your own goodness, power, or might, come boldly to the throne of grace in order to find grace and mercy in your time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).
Faith needs constant nurturing. “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). Feed your soul on God’s Word. Meditate upon the mind of God as He has revealed it to you, Psalm 1:2; 119:15-16. It is the bread of life that sustains our eternal being, John 6. This is what David did (Psalm 3:1-8; Psalm 4-5), and he was a great man of faith. Be faithful until the end, and the crown of life will be worth it all (Revelation 2:10).
“And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of … David…” and all his wonderful deeds and words (Hebrews 11:32). But these thoughts are worth considering as we learn the practical expression of faith.
_____________________________
January 2026 | GROW magazine
Download PDF of the January 2026 issue
