Word Count: 1036

Contact Cate Russell-Cole

Discovering David's Most Important Task as King

by Cate Russell-Cole  
10/18/2016 / Christian Living

Years ago I was having dinner with a friend when she told me that she had Jewish blood in the family. My instant reaction was, "you are so lucky!" Why? Because I knew that the Jewish people were God's *"chosen ones." Out of all the nations, the Lord chose Abraham and then his descendants, to be the Lord's holy, special people. I was a Christian, but I didn't have that same status and to me, it was a far greater privilege than merely being "grafted into the vine." [Ref. Romans 11]

As I am an adoptee, several years ago I had my DNA tested and I discovered, to my absolute delight, that my mother's side of the family is Jewish. Beyond my wildest dreams, I too, was a "chosen one." I am comforted by being connected to something so ancient and precious, but there was a point where I stopped and realised that being a "chosen one" isn't any more special than being a "grafted in" Christian. What my spirituality comes down to is that I belong to Jesus. He is all I have known for thirty-five years, and all I want. Nothing I have as a Jew is as precious as my relationship with Him.

I fell down the rabbit hole of Youtube last week, and was watching a Buzzfeed **video on "11 Things Your Jewish Friends Just Get," when they flashed up an odd title graphic: "signs your friend is a chosen one." The social label surprised me as a statement made in Deuteronomy looked so out of place in the secular world. The surprise made me takethe time to rethink about what it means to be a "chosen one."

In Understanding the ***Old Testament, Dr Paul House says: "He has chosen Israel to be His people so that they might bless the other nations. They are not chosen so that they can have special privileges and do as they wish. They are chosen to minister to the rest of the world." From that my mind went straight to this Scripture: "When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required." Luke 12:48b With status comes responsibilities, and looking at that verse in context reminded me of David.

In Luke 12, Jesus was talking about no one knowing when He will return and how we must be ready, but in verse 42, He makes a statement that also outlines the duties of a godly King. "A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing His other household servants and feeding them" Regardless of David's status as King, he was God's servant. A quick search of "My servant, David" on Bible Hub brings up fifteenplaceswhere God has spoken of David that way. God never calls David by his worldly title. Whatever status Isra'el gave their Kings, the Great Master kept the office of King in perspective.

Dr House's words helpedme to realise that David's chief role as King was to make God known, both to his people and also to the surrounding nations. Regardless of the national security needs of the nation, which laws needed reinforcing, what civil works needed to be completed, or what other diplomatic and administrative duties he had, first and foremost, as King he was the spiritual leader and had the responsibility of "managing [God's] other household servants and feeding them" the Word of God. A righteous, obedient King would keep Isra'el on the right track with God, so that He could bless His chosen people so much, the other nations would look at their success in envy, and want to know who their God was.

God blessed David to a degree that put himin the perfect place to be a witness to other nations. As Dr House's also said "he has a capital city, he has military might, and there is a religious centre for Israelite worship. Each of these achievements helps make him the undisputed authority in the land. For now Israel's' nagging long term problems of poor military, poor organisation and scattered religious rites have been solved. Because they have a good leader they follow Yahweh and defeat their enemies. No ruler since Joshua has done so much for the people." The other nations had to have seen this and wanted to know the secrets of such success.

"I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation; I have not hidden Your loving-kindness and Your truth from the great congregation." Psalm 40:10

David's chief task was the same one that we all have as Christians: God blesses us so we knowHis love, saving power and grace, which we then pass onto others who are lost, or struggling. It doesn't matter whether you are a "chosen one" or not, we have all been blessed with much and much is expected.


Notes:
*"The LORD has today declared you to be His people, a treasured possession, as He promised you, and that you should keep all His commandments; and that He will set you high above all nations which He has made, for praise, fame, and honour; and that you shall be a consecrated people to the LORD your God, as He has spoken." Deuteronomy 26:18-19
**Buzzfeed Video Link: https://youtu.be/uNIcRwcNqos
***Understanding the Old Testament by Dr Paul House, biblicaltraining.org Available free from: https://www.biblicaltraining.org/understanding-old-testament/paul-house
To understand the central role that Isra'el had during David's reign, please also read What You Need to Know About Isra'el in David's Time: http://articles.faithwriters.com/reprint-article-details.php?article=34218

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on King David, please have a meander through the King David Project Facebook page, our web site and our blog, "Masada Rain." The blog houses many useful resources on studying, David plus bits and pieces of information which don't neatly fit into article form. Please ignore dates and use the search feature to find what you want. The web site has resources on David's family tree, life and the Psalms. All content is creative commons and non-profit. Sharing of the project's work would be deeply appreciated.

Masada Rain Blog: https://masadarain.wordpress.com
The project web site: http://cateartios.wix.com/kingdavidproject
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fromdespairtodeliverance

This article by Cate Russell-Cole is under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Written in Australian English.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! Click here and TRUST JESUS NOW

Read more articles by Cate Russell-Cole

Like reading Christian Articles? Check out some more options. Read articles in Main Site Articles, Most Read Articles or our highly acclaimed Challenge Articles. Read Great New Release Christian Books for FREE in our Free Reads for Reviews Program. Or enter a keyword for a topic in the search box to search our articles.

Enter comments below. Due to spam, all hyperlinks posted in the comments are now immediately disabled by our system.

Please type the following word below:

Not readable? Change text.

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.

Hire a Christian Writer, Christian Writer Wanted, Christian Writer Needed, Christian Content Needed, Find a Christian Editor, Hire a Christian Editor, Christian Editor, Find a Christian Writer