David’s
story really should be a miniseries! But it would have to be done by someone
willing to risk challenging a natural Christian tendency to put David on a
pedestal. I admire his accomplishments enormously. And I accept the characterization
of him as a man after God’s own heart. But he was also an incredibly shrewd
politician. Just beneath the surface of the biblical narrative is a truly
compelling adventure story.
As
First Samuel ends, David has apparently defected to the Philistines. He has
accepted the overlordship of Achish of Gath and rules a small city named Ziklag.
When the Philistines muster for war against Saul and Israel, David shows up.
What
David would have done if he had actually been at the battle that killed Saul is
unclear. He had been hedging his bets, serving the Philistines but also
deceiving them about the degree to which he had fully turned against Israel. As
the story is told, some Philistines suspected his loyalty and sent him away
before the decisive battle. That is where 1 Samuel ends.
As
2 Samuel picks up the story, David does two apparently contradictory things. On
one hand, he shows great loyalty to Saul’s memory, killing the man who claimed
to have killed Saul and publicly mourning the death of the man who had driven
him from Israel. At the same time, David and his small army show up in Judah
where he is made king of part of what had been Saul’s kingdom. This sounds like
an offer the people of Judah could not refuse! Then he sends word to the people
of Jabesh-Gilead, who are loyal to Saul, that he is now king of Judah (2:7).
This sounds a lot like a play for the throne of the united nation. If so, it
does not work.
Chapter
three describes the commencement of hostilities between David’s kingdom in the
south and the rest of Israel under Saul’s son and heir in the north. The cause
of the war is unclear. David is not mentioned, but it inconceivable that a
warrior of David’s prowess would not participate in the war.
David’s
forces gain the advantage, but David continues to show an odd loyalty to Saul’s
family and former supporters. Finally David’s forces prevail (after seven years
of fighting!), at which point, the tribes of Israel accept David as their king
(5:1). This is presented as a voluntary act, and the people may well have
welcomed David since that ended a civil war. But David becomes king because his
troops defeated Israel.
Meanwhile,
the Philistines remain the dominant power in the region. David surely ruled as
their client. And they surely enjoyed seeing Israel convulsed by a civil war,
which prevented Israel from uniting against them. But once David wins the war
and unites Israel, he becomes a threat. They promptly attack. It must have been
a dangerous moment for David. But in two battles, he defeats the Philistines and
effectively ends the long period of their dominance, a period going back to the
time of Samson and Samuel.
Finally,
in the most politically skillful act of all, David conquers a Canaanite city in
the middle of his kingdom and claims it as the city of David—thus beholden to
no single tribe. This is like choosing Washington DC as the capital of the
United States. Then he brings the ark of the covenant—apparently neglected
since the days of Eli—into his city, making the city of David both the
political and the religious capital of the united and newly independent nation.
And Israel enters a golden age of prosperity.
That
is quite a journey for a shepherd boy!
Fr. Harvey
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