It is no wonder God called King David a man after his own heart.

David (Hebrew: דָּוִד meaning "Beloved") was Israel’s greatest king and he ruled for over 40 years over his people. David lived life recognizing Gods hand and was humble in life even as king. He had a pure heart and wanted to do God's will. Although he did commit sin, as all men do, he did sincerely repent of his sins, asked for forgiveness, and came back into God's grace. As we read the scriptures, David is called a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22)
 

“But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.” 1 Samuel 13:14
 

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts 13:22

Yet it is somewhat of a consolation to us that David in spite of many positives in his life he also made some grave mistakes as he gave in to sexual temptation as he had an unhappy marriage. He lied and deceived his people. David was a man, who struggled with sin and temptations like we do. God choose David to be King because he knew David's heart was devoted and sold out to Him.  Though God knew David would sin with Bathsheba (Hebrew: בת שבע ‎ , Bat Sheva ) "daughter of the oath” , and take multiple wives and concubines, but God also knew that the intent of David's heart was to love God with all his heart and be obedient, even though, like us he would fail to have perfect obedience. In spite of his many faults, David always remained close to God. Even in the times of his sufferings he continued praising God. He asked God forgiveness and truly repents for his sins and received it. 

Harden Hearts
What would possess a man to deny the sovereignty of God in the face of overwhelming indications of His power?  The very same affliction that millions suffers today is because of hardened hearts. 

Pharaoh is the typical example today of the heart of many that had hardened against hearing of the love of God, and His free gift of salvation.  The harden heart reasons of unwillingness to acknowledge the supreme sovereignty of God, and to recognize own sinful state. Pride is often the cement that hardens the heart of people. “They are darkened in their understanding, and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.  Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”   Ephesians 4:18,19

We are powerless to soften people’s hearts by ourselves, or to change them in any way.  That is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”  We must never forget to pray for the lost or give up planting the seeds God provide to us through the Holy Spirit. 

The story of David and Bathsheba started where King David walked around on the roof of his palace and saw the beautiful woman bathing. After making some enquiries he heard her name was Bathsheba the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Although he knew was very wrong he ordered her to the palace and slept with her. After indulging himself, he sent her back home and thought nothing would come of his illicit pleasure. A while past and Bathsheba sent him a message that was pregnant.

David realized he had a serious problem on hand and at that time Bathsheba’s husband Uriah was away at the battlefront and it is clear to all that it could not be his child. Instead of listening to the voice of his conscience, he now had to face the consequences for the rest of his life. Instead of facing his problem, he tried to cover it by hastily arranging for Uriah to be brought from the battlefields and like in normal situations sleep with his wife. However Uriah the loyal soldier refused to leave his men in the dangerous battlefront. David then invited Uriah to join him at a banquet where he attempted to get Uriah drunk, but again Uriah’s strong principals held firm.

David then arranged for Uriah to be placed in a mortally dangerous position in the very forefront of the battle. David’s strategy worked and Uriah was killed.
God must have been bitterly disappointed with these actions. Not only did David commit sexual adultery and lied, but to that he added the heinous crime of murder. The thing David had done displeased the Lord.

After his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder plot of her husband, David received a visit from the prophet Nathan. "And The Lord sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his morsel, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him."

"Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flocks or herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb, and prepared it for the man who had come to him."

"Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, "As The Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity."

"Nathan said to David, "You are the man!" Thus says The Lord, the God of Israel, 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul; and I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of The Lord, to do what is evil in His sight? You have smitten Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the Ammonites." 2 Samuel 12:1-9 

Nathan looked David squarely in the eye and brought him to confession. David immediately admitted his sins to the Lord.

It is difficult at times for us to recognize our very own sins. Our judgment of others are often much stricter than we owe to judge ourselves. It is easier to blame someone else than your own self and we have to be careful not to blind ourselves to our own sins. When God says go there are two alternatives. One is to obey. Here I am Lord send me. The other is to disobey and take your punishment from God. When God says go it is not always to the easy task.

Before you answer no to God consider the consequences. If you want to chaos in your life and those around you, then run from God. It is tragic when you disobey God, run from Him and others suffer for your disobedience. But when God says go forward trust Him and go, Step out with confidence, don't be hesitant and slow.  The God who stopped the river to let His people through, Is the same powerful God who's right there with you.

Willingness to change:
If your faith won't be developed you will not reach your destiny. According to the Word of God your future depends on faith. Admitting a sin is to confess and repent.  David poured out his heart to God. He longed to make the restitution for what he has done wrong. David asked God to be merciful to him and forgive him for his iniquity against God and remove his sin and wash him so that he could be whiter than snow. David prayed that God would give him a pure heart and not take the Holy Spirit away from him so that he may live in joy again.

David realized two things: That in essence all sins are committed against God and that God never turns his back on the one whom sincerely repents his sins. We too have to be prepared like David to admit our sins, and ask God for forgiveness and healing.

The message Nathan brought to David was that though he himself would not be punished with death but the son born to him and Bathsheba would die. David prayed earnestly to God to save the Childs life. Lying prostrate to the ground, he fasted in solitude. Yet, the Lord did not do what David asked for, on the seventh day the child died in spite of all David’s attempts and pleadings. The officials that saw how David humiliated himself before God were afraid to break the news to David. However David reacted differently than expected. David got up, dressed himself and went to pray in the house of the Lord.

The Lord does not always give us what we ask for. He did not do as David requested concerning the life of his son. God is steadfast in His plans and nothing can avail against His plans.

David however did not turn against God and accepted the Lord’s answers. David consoled his wife and as a sign that God had forgiven David, another son was born to David destined for great things. He would be the wisest and richest king that the Israelites had ever had.

We learn from the scriptures that through the prophet Nathan the Lord named him “Jedidiah, ידידיה נורצי which means. “The Lord loves him” Solomon is conceived at the same time that God judges David's sin by killing his son conceived in sin. Solomon is the first "legitimate" child of David and Bathsheba. I believe, along with several other scholars, that God's naming of Solomon as 'Jedidiah' is a way of showing David that he still has a chance of fulfilling his God-given destiny. The name Jedidiah means "beloved of God." God hasn't given up on David and shows this through the naming of Solomon.

David committed another sin against God by going against the will of God to conduct a census of the nation.  David listened to satan and heeded to his own preference rather than the will of God. After he held the census his conscience troubled him and he confessed to the Lord. But David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 2 Samuel 24:10

Through the prophet Gad, God announced his punishment for David’s disobedience. The king had to make a choice between three possible punishments: famine, a military defeat or a plague among the people. This was a very difficult choice and he realized what his disobedience had cost not only to himself but to his people. David extremely tough choice was the pestilence. When this plague broke out the prophet Gad told David to buy a threshing floor of Araunah in order to build an altar there. When David obeyed, God stopped the plague and 70,000 people had died.  David’s remorse was sincere.

David’s son Absalom, was an attractive and dynamic man rebelled against his father. He succeeded in winning over the nation and declared himself king in Hebron. When David heard this  he tried to stabilize matters by fleeing. He was heartbroken and betrayed of his favorite son. In 2 Samuel 15:30 we read how David climb the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went.  He covered his head and went barefoot as a sign of his grief. In the end Absalom rebellion turned into a full scale war. However when Absalom decided and pursue to capture his father David’s men succeeded in defeating his army. David gathered his troops and then killed 20,000 of Absalom’s Israelite soldiers, including Absalom himself. David returned to power. A second revolt broke out at the hands of Sheba son of Bichri, but with the help of Joab, David succeeded in crushing this rebellion as well, and in killing Sheba.

This story gives us the indication to consider the sadness that must be in the heart of God, over the sorrow of the children being disobedient to parents.

Destined journey:
Your destiny is your ultimate election. Your purpose is what God choose you to do ultimately on this earth and were elected to do so even before you were born. Your purpose is whatever you are called by God to do, to fulfill His plan. Only God is sovereign and His sovereign control is called “divine intervention.” God has chosen people to succeed His purpose.  Even when Man’s intent is purely evil, God can still bring about His will. Everything that happens in the world is made to work out according to God’s purpose. Evil exists, but it is not allowed to spoil God’s providence. God uses even sinful men for His purposes. “The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases” Proverbs 21:1.

Things started proceeding well for King David. For the first time in a long time, there was peace and things were quiet again in Israel. David moved into a beautiful palace, sincerely grateful that the Lord had blessed him so abundantly. David came to the realization that it was not right that his house should be so luxurious while a mere tent would serve as God’s house. David wanted to build a temple in which the ark of the covenant could be placed and where sinners could present to God sacrifices which cover sin. However, the Lord rejected it and told David that he was not the one to build a house for God, but that God would build for him a house, that is, a posterity which would endure forever! This was the covenant God made with David. He said to him:

"When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will 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. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever."  2 Samuel 7:12 -16

This promise was a tremendous and surpasses human comprehension! God promised David,"Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever!"
God promised David that through this kingdom will be a throne that would establish an everlasting government. A Man would be born in David's royal family line who would receive the authority to reign in heaven and on earth forever. He would be called the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Prince of Peace. Hundreds of years after David's time, and about seven hundred years before this King of Kings was born, the prophet Isaiah pen these words:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end! He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this!" Isaiah. 9:6,7

Yeshua is the Redeemer, the King from heaven, who was born of a virgin, a virgin who belonged to the descendants of David. Concerning this King, the Scripture says: "God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name!" Philippians. 2:9   

Beyond the point of return:
When David understood God's plan to send the Redeemer through his family line, David kneeled and worshiped the Lord saying,
Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?  And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God!  And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God!  Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it.  Therefore you are great, O Lord God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.   And who is like your people Israel, the one nation on earth whom God went to redeem to be his people, making himself a name and doing for them  great and awesome things by driving out  before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods?  And you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever. And you, O Lord, became their God.  And now, O Lord God, confirm forever the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and concerning his house, and do as you have spoken.  And your name will be magnified forever, saying, ‘The Lord of hosts is God over Israel,’ and the house of your servant David will be established before you.  For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, has made this revelation to your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.   And now, O Lord God, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant.  Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before You.  For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”2 Samuel 7:18-29

David thanked the Lord for His promise concerning the King who would come forth through his descendants. You who know the Holy Scriptures know that God has already fulfilled part of this promise.

We read in the scriptures, a thousand years after David's time, God sent an angel to shepherds who were tending their flocks in the same hills of Bethlehem where David had tended his father's flock. The angel of the Lord said to the shepherds, "I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."  Luke 2:10,11

God’s plan succeeded
God deliver what He promised. Nothing will thwart His plans.  Yeshua is back in heaven and we are all eagerly awaiting that glorious day when He will return to judge the world in righteousness. In that day, everyone will know that the promise God made to David concerning his eternal kingdom is true. In that day it will be said, "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever!"Revelations 11:15

"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!…For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen!" Romans 11:33,36

The distance forward less-greater than the point of return:
God blesses the obedient, and He is patient with those who disobey, even to the point of seeming laxity. He has a plan for our lives, which includes our happiness and His glory both in this world and in the world to come. Those who accept Christ as Savior have accepted God’s plan (John 14:6).

Love in Yeshua
Be blessed and stay blessed!
Have a joyful day and remember to thank Yahweh יהוה for it!