David: Ritchie Character Study Series - Hardcover

Munro, Craig

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1914273214 ISBN 13: 9781914273216

Publisher: John Ritchie Ltd, 2022

Synopsis

David is one of the principal characters of our Bible. HIs name is mentioned over 1000 times in Scripture, and it is the most referenced name in the Bible. In the New Testament, his name comes immediately after that of the Lord Jesus: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David" (Matt 1.1). Interestingly, David is also the second last name in the New Testament: "I am the root and offspring of David...the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen" (Rev 22.16-21). In other words, David is a character who seems to shadow our blessed Lord, and his life is full of meaning and lessons for all believers. The emphasis of this character study is not so much in re-telling David's story, although some of that has been necessary, but rather in considering the lessons we can learn from the life of David for our lives today. Therefore, this book is devotional and practical in nature, rather than being expository. Thirteen of the titles of the 75 psalms of David share details of their settings, and these 13 psalms are all arranged chronologically in this book, after each chapter, without commentary, and after the relevant setting for each psalm has been discussed. If there is no psalm that we are aware of being written in the period under consideration, then a psalm has been selected that is relevant.It is hoped that the simple reading of the psalm in its context will prove to be a selah moment of deeper reflection upon the Word of God and appreciation of our God.

About this title

About the Author

Craig Munro lives in Fife, Scotland with his wife Hannah and their three children. He recently felt called of the God to leave full time employment in fife as the Executive Director of Education and Children's Services to become an evangelist. Craig is a well-known Gospel preacher and Bible teacher throughout the UK and is the current editor of the Christian magazine, Present Tru

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

CHAPTER 1David: His CharacterOverviewDavid is one of the principal characters of our Bible. His nameis mentioned over 1,000 times in Scripture, and it is the mostreferenced name in the Bible. In the New Testament his name comesimmediately after that of the Lord Jesus: “The book of the generationof Jesus Christ, the son of David” (Matt 1:1). Interestingly, “David”is the second last name in the New Testament: “I am the root andoffspring of David … the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with youall. Amen” (Rev 22:16-21). In other words, David is a character whoseems to shadow our blessed Lord and his life is full of meaning andlessons for all believers.David as a picture of ChristDavid, the son of Jesse, was born in Bethlehem, as was the LordJesus. When Christ was born, the angel said to Mary: “the Lord Godshall give unto him the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32). Davidis uniquely called by God, “a man after mine own heart” (Acts 13:22).Therefore, there are delightful features of David that remind us of thecharacter of the Lord Jesus, and these will be brought out as we travelthrough the Scriptures with him. Furthermore, important propheciesconcerning David in relation to Christ are still to be fulfilled: forexample: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise untoDavid a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, andshall execute judgment and justice in the earth” (Jer 23:5). We are stillwaiting for our Lord to return to set up His Kingdom on earth, and inthis context Ezekiel refers to Him as “David”: “And I will set up oneshepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant Davidhe shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd” (Ezek 34:23). Thecovenant promise to David (2 Sam 7:8-17) is literally fulfilled in Christand will know its ultimate fulfilment when He comes back to reign inthis world.Inspiration and comfortDavid lived when King Saul was on the throne and the Philistineswere Israel’s major threat. David was a shepherd boy who becamethe King of Israel and ultimately removed the Philistine threat andestablished the Kingdom. It is an inspiring story of a young boylooking after sheep, who moves from poverty to prosperity by beingcatapulted into a position of authority from relative obscurity.David knew real adversity. His psalms help us in days of trial,his prayers of penitence move us in our days of weakness and sin.His victory and valley experiences combine true devotion with realweakness encouraging all of us that we can do better, rise higher, andserve the Lord more valiantly.WorshipDavid’s psalms of worship touch the soul. The profundity and yetsimplicity of David’s words (as inspired by the Lord) are thrillingand so relevant to our experiences of life: “The Lord is my shepherd;I shall not want” (Ps 23:1); “The Lord is my light and my salvation;whom shall I fear?” (Ps 27:1); “The Lord is my rock, and my fortress”(Ps 18:2), to name but a few. David was devoted to his Lord and hisworship draws us all nearer to the throne.WarningDavid made some major mistakes with tragic consequences, andwe should learn from these so that we do not fall into the sameerrors. This book will follow the major movements in the life of David,reminding us that God can teach us in the dark days as well as at thehigh points in life. As we reflect upon David’s sin, it encourages us toreflect on our lives. Our day of service will all soon be over, and we willhave to give account of ourselves before God.The first mention of David is found in the book of Ruth where wediscover the intriguing story of his ancestry. The details of his lifeare found in First and Second Samuel (from 1 Samuel 16 onwards),in the early chapters of First Kings, and in First Chronicles. Davidis constantly referred to when the other kings of Judah are beingdiscussed. He also wrote half the book of Psalms, and his name isfound in almost all of the poetical books. His legacy is found in theexile accounts of Ezra and Nehemiah as well as in the Minor Prophets.The New Testament is saturated with references to him. Therefore,we will need to be selective in this pen portrait of David!The broad movements of David’s life are as:• Shepherd boy (1 Samuel 16-17);• Servant to King Saul in the palace, and ultimately son-in-law to theKing (1 Samuel 18-20);• Stranger and stateless man hounded by King Saul across themountains and valleys of Judah (1 Samuel 21-2 Samuel 1);• Sovereign on the throne of Judah and Israel (2 Samuel 2-1 Kings 2).The base text used for this book will be 1 Samuel 16 to 1 Kings2. The emphasis will be not so much in re-telling David’s story,although some of that will be necessary, but rather in consideringthe lessons we can learn from the life of David for our lives today.Therefore, this book is devotional and practical in nature ratherthan being expository.Thirteen of the titles of the 75 psalms of David share details oftheir settings, and these 13 psalms are all arranged chronologicallyin this book, after each chapter, without commentary, and afterthe relevant setting for each psalm has been discussed. If there isno psalm that we are aware of being written in the period underconsideration, then a psalm has been selected that is relevant. It ishoped that the simple reading of the psalm in its context will proveto be a “selah” moment of deeper reflection upon the Word of Godand appreciation of our God.The chapters of this book can be summarised briefly.

Edition details

• Publisher: John Ritchie Ltd
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1914273214
• ISBN 13: 9781914273216
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224