Bible Challenge Day 106: David’s Rise to Power (1 Sam 25-27)

Carrie and I are watching House of Cards on television. It is the story of a man’s relentless rise to power from Democratic Whip in Congress to Vice President (so far). He rises by lying and manipulating everyone around him, with an occasional murder to cover his tracks. Somehow the main character manages to be charming and awful at the same time.

David is not portrayed as awful in 1 Samuel. Quite the contrary, David is the great hero of the book, the man after God’s own heart, the man with the Spirit of the Lord, the man chosen by God to establish the kingdom on a secure foundation. And yet . . . First Samuel makes it clear that David was also a tough, talented, and ambitious politician. He would make a worthy opponent for Frank Underwood.

Samuel anoints David as the king to replace Saul (16:13). But the anointing was not made public, and Samuel and David seem to have spent little time together. At no point did David rely on Samuel to build his power base.

But from the beginning, David was interested in power. When he visits his brothers at the battlefield, long before he himself becomes a renowned warrior, David hears that Saul will reward the man who agrees to fight Goliath. David immediately asks, what will that man get (17:26)? He does not receive an answer, but kills Goliath and enters Saul’s service, where he quickly distinguishes himself.

After a short time, Saul recognizes, rightly, that David’s popularity threatens to eclipse his own, which destabilizes Saul’s reign. Saul’s erratic behavior makes things worse, particularly when he alienates his own family and kills the priests of Nob. Meanwhile, David is consistently loyal to Saul. It is the only part of David’s behavior that does not advance his own interests.

When David flees from Saul, he first seeks sanctuary among the Philistines in Gath, but they do not trust him (21:0f). Next he gathers around himself a kind of bandit gang composed of his family and everyone who was in distress, debt, or generally discontented (22:1-3). He and his army of 400-600 roam the territory of Judah (David’s tribe), fighting the Philistines and eluding Saul. He is also building a power base.

In the chapters for today, David essentially asks for protection money from the very rich Nabal, and eventually marries Nabal’s wife. Then he and his men return to Gath, where he enters the service of the Philistine king. David seeks, and is granted, a tributary city in the territory of Gath. But David is not honest with the king of Gath. Each day, David raids the various non-Israelite tribes to the south. Each day he slaughters everyone so that no one can report back. And each day he tells the king that he has been raiding Israelites. The king concludes that David has fully alienated his former people and so will remain loyal to the Philistines when in fact David is keeping his options open.

Throughout it all, David continues to consult God. But he is also a shrewd political player who totally outmaneuvers his opponents at each stage. As a result, I have never really known what to make of David. And, also as a result, I find him endlessly fascinating.

Fr. Harvey