2 SAMUEL 5

So, finally David is inaugurated as the new king of Israel. And something very short and simple in this chapter stuck out to me: "All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, 'We are your own flesh and blood. In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the Lord said to you, "You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler."'" (vs 1-2)

There had been a lot of fighting in the previous years—both internal fighting (as Saul pursued David) and external fighting (as the Israelites fought the Philistines). But in the first two verses of this chapter, it was clear to me that what God was after was a king that would have service as his number one priority. Sure, there was still going to be war (since the Israelites hadn’t followed God’s plan to eject the heathen nations from the Promised Land), but God wanted David to be a shepherd, not a warrior.

In thinking of the people of Israel, David wasn’t supposed to view them as recruits for his army, but as people who needed to be cared for. God wanted him to be tender with them, caring for them in a self-sacrificing way (as a shepherd does for his sheep). In other words, God wanted David to be a man after His own heart.

At heart, God is a shepherd. And He loves all His sheep—those who have stayed in the fold, and those who have wandered away. His way of being a king is to serve. His way of displaying His greatness and power is to sacrifice for His children. In so many ways, servanthood is the essence of Godhood.