In 965 B. C. e. At the age of 70, King David of Israel completed his life. He was buried in Jerusalem on Mount Zion, exactly where, many centuries later, the Last Supper took place, which preceded the sufferings and torments of Jesus Christ. The image of this biblical character has become the personification of the former greatness of the Jewish people and hope for its coming revival.
Young anointed of God
According to the Old Testament, the pious Bethlehemite Jesse and his wife, the Moabite Ruth, who lived in the 11th century BC. e., eight sons grew up, the youngest of whom was the future biblical king David. It is generally accepted that he was born in 1035 BC. e.
The Holy Scripture tells that even in his youth, the boy was distinguished not only by his beauty and strength, but also by his amazing eloquence, as well as the ability to play the kinor ─ an ancient stringed instrument.
The life, or, more simply, the biography of King David, begins with the fact that before the readers he appears as a young shepherd, spending days and nights with flocks of sheep on the slopes of the hills that surrounded his hometown of Bethlehem. The young man was distinguished by his courage, protecting his wards from bears and lions.
In those years, the people of Israel were ruled by King Saul, who became the first anointed of God, but then rejected by Him for disobedience and pride. Therefore, the Lord sent the prophet Samuel to secretly anoint His new chosen one to reign, which was the young shepherd, the youngest son of Jesse the Bethlehemite. From the moment when the prophet fulfilled this great mission, the Spirit of God rested on the future king David, and he became the executor of His holy will.
Royal favor turned into hatred
By the will of the Almighty, David found grace in the eyes of King Saul, who remained in power for a few more years. This was served by two episodes described in the Old Testament. One of them is the miraculous playing of the young man on the kinor, with which he managed to calm the king's mental anguish, and the other is his victory over the giant Goliath. The Scripture says that, having come to the camp of the Israelites on the eve of a decisive battle with the Philistines, he accepted a challenge to a duel from this formidable hero and, having struck him down with a stone fired from a sling, ensured victory for his people. This feat allowed David to enter the inner circle of the king and win the friendship of his son Jonathan.
But it so happened that the glory of the young warrior, which reached all corners of the country, aroused burning envy in Saul and became the reason that the former favor was replaced by hatred. Repeatedly the king tried to kill David, but he could not do it openly, fearing general indignation, and therefore resorted to various tricks and intrigues. Whenit became obvious that a bloody denouement was inevitable, the disgraced hero was forced to flee and wander for a long time in the desert, looking for salvation from his pursuers there. Over the years of wandering, he closely learned the life of the common people and learned compassion for people.
In the service of former enemies
However, his former glory was not forgotten, and gradually everyone who fell victim to oppression and insults began to gather around the future King David. Over time, a large detachment was formed from them, at the head of which the disgraced anointed of God left the country and temporarily entered the service of his former enemies ─ the Philistines and their king Achish.
Having found a patron in his person, David and his supporters settled in the border town of Ziklag, from where they raided the settlements of the neighboring Amolektian tribes. Part of the loot went under the contract to Achish, and the rest of the booty was divided among the exiles. David was loyal to the king, but when he called him to participate in a military campaign against the kingdom of Israel, he managed to evade the need to fight with his own people by cunning.
David's reign in Judea
The ensuing war was disastrous for the Israelis. At the battle of Gilboa, the Philistines inflicted a crushing defeat on them, which cost the life of King Saul. Being seriously wounded and foreseeing the inevitable captivity, he committed suicide by piercing himself with his own sword. On the same day, his son Jonathan, who saved David from his father's persecution more than once, also died.
Despite the fact that David personallytook part in the battle, he nevertheless took advantage of the victory of the Philistines, and having arrived with his detachment in the city of Hebron, located in the southern part of the kingdom of Israel, he was officially anointed to reign. However, over the next seven years, the power of King David did not extend to the whole country, but only to its part, called Judea. It received such a name due to the fact that representatives of the tribe of Judah lived there ─ one of the twelve sons of the Jewish forefather Jacob. In the rest of the territory, one of the surviving sons of Saul ruled.
Leading all of Israel
The division of the once united state led to internecine struggle, as a result of which the Jews won. Immediately after the end of hostilities, Israelite elders arrived in Hebron and called on David to reign over the entire country. So the Lord raised His anointed one over the Jewish people, who was noted for His behavior by the prophet Samuel. In those days, David was barely 30 years old.
Building Jerusalem
By becoming the king of Israel, David showed the world a model of wisdom and unyielding determination in the fight against enemies. He won many victories, and soon none of the neighboring rulers dared to attack him. During the first seven years of his reign, while the royal residence was located in Hebron, the construction of the new capital of the state ─ Jerusalem, whose name is translated from Hebrew as “City of Peace”, was underway.
A tabernacle was installed in the center of it, into which the greatest shrine of the Jewish people was transferred ─ the Ark of the Covenant ─ portablea chest in which the stone Tablets with the commandments received by Moses on Mount Sinai were kept, as well as a vessel with Manna from Heaven and Aaron's staff. This further elevated the status of the new capital.
The Great Psalmist
Through His prophet, the Lord announced to King David that henceforth his house would reign forever, and from it in the future the Messiah would appear to the world. Note that the followers of Judaism to this day expect the fulfillment of the prophecy, while Christians believe that it was fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
The Lord endowed His chosen one with many talents. In particular, He endowed him with the art of compiling psalms - religious verses, which were then combined into a collection known as the King David Ps alter, and included among the sacred books of the Old Testament. His non-Jewish texts are widely used during various Christian services. Particularly in demand are the 40th, 50th and 90th psalms of King David. But besides this, reading the full text is included in the order of performance of many Christian rites. For example, it is customary to read the Ps alter over the bodies of the dead.
Unfulfilled dreams
Forty years of the reign of King David (that's how long he was in power) became a period of extraordinary prosperity for the entire Jewish people. Being a wise ruler, he arranged the state in every possible way and strengthened the faith in the Almighty among its inhabitants. For this, the Lord helped him in all his undertakings, with the exception of only one.
The fact is that by transferring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and placing it intraveling tabernacle, David conceived the construction of a grandiose Temple. However, with all the goodwill towards His chosen one, the Lord did not allow him to do this, but blessed the son of King David ─ Solomon, whose birth will be described below, for such a great deed. Through the mouth of the prophet, he announced that, participating in wars, he was forced to shed a lot of blood, and it is necessary to build the House of God only with clean hands.
Thus, David was forced to concede the honor of building the Temple to his son, but in subsequent years he did everything that was possible in this direction. He collected the necessary funds, developed drawings of the buildings included in the temple complex, and also prepared sketches of the attributes of future services. All this he handed over to Solomon, making it much easier for him to complete the task ahead.
Enemy temptations
Despite the fact that the whole story of King David is a story about a true servant of God, who became the embodiment of innumerable benefactors, there was an episode in his life that spoiled the overall picture and even partly tarnished his reputation. The enemy of the human race, as you know, often chooses the most righteous people as the object of his intrigues. He did not miss the opportunity to interfere with King David.
One evening, Satan brought him to a balcony overlooking the courtyard of his neighbor ─ military leader Uriah the Hittite, just at the moment when his naked wife Versavia was splashing in the pool. According to the custom of the East, the king had many wives and concubines, but he had never seen such a beauty.
Having attached the eyes of David to her, the enemy of the human race lit an unbearable fire in his flesh (Satan is a master of these things). Knowing that Versavia's husband was not at home, since he had been sent on a long campaign, the king ordered his servants to bring a young woman to him, who, by the way, did not express the slightest indignation at such obvious treachery, or, as it is now fashionable to say, sexual harassment.
Falling into an even greater sin
Indulging further insatiable voluptuary, she soon became pregnant by him and gave birth to a son. Unlike hundreds of other women who shared his bed with the king, Versaviya captured the heart of David to such an extent that he decided to make her his official wife, but this required somehow getting rid of her husband.
Cunning and here did not miss a chance to intervene. At his instigation, the king sent a letter to the commander of the army in which Uriah fought, with an order to send him to the most dangerous place, where he would face imminent death. He did exactly what the king had ordered. Having become a widower, Versavia soon became the lawful wife of King David. Such an act aroused the wrath of the Lord God, and through the prophet Nathan He convicted His anointed of a crime committed before Heaven and people.
Deep repentance
Realizing the full depth of his guilt, the tsar brought the Lord the deepest repentance, which formed the basis of the famous 50th psalm, to this day pronounced when reading the "Morning Prayer Rule" by all church-going Orthodox people. After this exciting textit is customary to offer prayers to King David for his intercession before the Throne of God for the forgiveness of certain of our sins that aggravate our conscience.
Having heeded such passionate repentant speeches, the Lord, through the same prophet Nathan, informed David that he was forgiven, but must suffer the punishment, which would be the death of his son, born to him by Versavia even before marriage. Soon the child really died, but a year later his beloved wife gave him a new one, which was the future great king of Israel Solomon ─ the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem. That is why in the prayers to King David there are petitions not only for the remission of sins, but also for intercession before the Lord for sending worthy heirs.
The end of life's journey
The main concern in the last years of the reign of King David was the problem of succession to the throne. He had many sons. Without waiting for the death of their father, some of them began to wage a fierce struggle for power. Especially impudent and indomitable was the eldest son Absalom. The Bible says that under the external beauty and grace, a treacherous and cruel soul was hidden in him. Gathering a large detachment of his supporters, he went to war against his own father, and only the will of God prevented the implementation of his insidious plans.
David's sadness, caused by the treachery of his eldest son, did not have time to dispel, when Savey, next in age to him, raised a new rebellion, and when he was pacified, his third son, Adonijah, raised his sword against his father. This fight with my own sons has poisonedthe last years of the king's life and undermined his mental strength. Feeling the approach of death, he, at the insistence of Versavia and the prophet Nathan, declared his son Solomon the heir to the throne, anointing him to reign. King David passed away in 965 BC. e., and today his tomb on Mount Zion is one of the greatest shrines of the Jewish people.
