During the Summer Holidays, we will be running a series of Messy Church activities focusing upon that great Old Testament character – the shepherd boy, David, who became king and ruler of God’s people.
King David is a figure who appeals to children – especially in the tales of his early life where we hear about him wrestling with the lions and bears who are attacking his flocks of sheep; and, of course, fighting and defeating the huge giant, Goliath. But David is also a figure who can appeal to adults too. He had a strong faith in God, an intimate and spiritual relationship with his Creator – he was the composer of many of the Psalms, especially Psalm 23 – “The Lord’s My Shepherd” – one of the most well-loved and well-known Psalms, even today. David also had a strong emotional bond and friendship with Jonathan, the son of Saul, Israel’s previous king; and he grieved and mourned deeply when Jonathan was killed on the battle-field. And as King, he won many famous victories, he established a kingdom, and he restored and rebuilt the city of Jerusalem –making it his capital and moving to Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant – that sacred symbol of God’s presence with Israel.
However, as well as being a great King, a great spiritual and national leader, David was also a man who could be deeply flawed at times; a man who made significant mistakes that were far-reaching in their consequences and brought tragedy to many people. Perhaps the most well-known of these was his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba who became pregnant with David’s child. To prevent news of their relationship reaching Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, David deliberately ordered Uriah to be sent into a ferocious battle, knowing Uriah would be slaughtered in the fighting. Then, when Uriah was killed, David married Bathsheba – undeterred by the fact that he was responsible for Uriah’s death – a responsibility tantamount to murder…
David later repented of his actions, but his initial decisions and choices reveal a man who was an extremely complex character – a man capable of tremendous faith and spiritual insight; but a man who could also leave destruction and misery in his wake.
I suspect, it is this very fact that David is presented as being such a complicated character that makes him someone who appeals to adults, as well as to children. Because in David’s story we see God at work in a real, three-dimensional human being – not a picture-perfect human being, but a human being who is more like us; a human being who is capable of making wise and foolish decisions; a human being who can rise to great heights but also plummet to great lows; a human being who one minute can feel incredibly close to God and who can desire nothing more than to do God’s will and who the next minute, can make disastrous and tragic choices and who can want nothing more than his/hers own selfish desires. And because God could be present with, and work through, someone like David; then we too can have hope that God can be present with, and work through, someone like us. The story of David shows us that none of us is beyond the transforming power of God, none of us is beyond the mercy of God, none of us is beyond the love of God.
So if you are a parent / carer of young children, can I invite you to bring them to learn more about David at our Messy Church activities (we will be omitting the story of Bathsheba!) which will be taking place from Monday 6th August to Thursday 9th. More details can be found on our Facebook page. And if you are an adult, and you wish to read more about David’s life, you can find his story beginning in 1 Samuel 17, continuing throughout 2 Samuel, and ending in 1 Kings 2.