David was young when the prophet Samuel anointed him to succeed Saul as king of Israel (1 Samuel 16:1-13). But he was thirty years old when he became king of Judah and about thirty-seven when he began to rule all of Israel. During the intervening years, he played the harp for King Saul (1 Samuel 16:14-23), fought and killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17), befriended the king’s son Jonathan and married the king’s daughter Michal (1 Samuel 18), fled from the king when he tried to take David’s life (1 Samuel 19-23), and twice spared the king’s life when he found the king alone and vulnerable (1 Samuel 24; 26).
What happened to David in the meantime? He knew he would eventually be king, but for now, he was subjected to humiliation and peril. Did these experiences teach him important lessons in leadership? Did they allow him to demonstrate his character to God and to his fellow Israelites?
Alma taught the people in the city of Ammonihah that God ordained people to be priests before they were born. However, when those people are born, they don’t automatically become priests, in spite of having been “prepared from the foundation of the world according to the foreknowledge of God.” Instead, they are “left to choose good or evil.” Only after choosing good are they “called with a holy calling” (Alma 13:3).
One example of David being tested was when he and his men found Saul alone in a cave. Saul had been pursuing David with the intent to kill him. David could have felt justified in taking his life, but instead, he merely cut off a piece of Saul’s clothing. He even felt guilty about doing that, saying to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord” (1 Samuel 24:5-6).
Later, he showed Saul the piece of clothing and said, “The Lord had delivered thee to day into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill thee: but mine eye spared thee” (1 Samuel 24:10). Saul replied, “Thou art more righteous than I: for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded thee evil. … And now, behold, I know well that thou shalt surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in thine hand” (1 Samuel 24:17, 20).
Saul recognized David’s greatness. David’s men surely saw it too. As Saul recognized, the Lord was preparing David to be king. But like the priests described by Alma, David needed time to prove that he was ready for this important calling that God had already anointed him to hold.
Today I will be grateful for periods of preparation. I will remember that trials and temptations give me opportunities to grow into roles that God has ordained for me.
Leave a Reply