King David
Jose A. Martinez
BUS452A Organizational Behavior, CCU
Prof. Wallace
January 27, 2015

David was a great leader, and furthermore was devout to God. God looked on David’s heart and chose him to be Saul’s successor as king of Israel, and prepared him to take the kingdom. David was very different from Saul. Saul might have looked like a king, but lacked the heart and lost God’s favor. David’s accomplishments were many, but his failures will bring consequences to him and the nation of Israel. Besides his failures, David’s example is one that we all should learn from and apply to our lives.
David’s preparation and credibility
David’s secret anointing, pouring oil on his head, stood for holiness. Even though he was anointed to be king, he had to wait, to learn and grow in his circumstances. “People want leaders who are honest, forward-looking, inspiring and competent” (Tubbs, 1943, p. 277). God started preparing David for his future responsibilities. “David did receive something even more valuable – God’s Spirit” (Arnold & Beyer p. 201). He was chosen by Saul to be his musician, got him to be close to the current king, and that gave him a better understanding of how to run a kingdom. David bursts onto the scene with integrity, faith, courage, tenderness, and uncommon valor. He is the poet-warrior who changed the landscape of a nation.
Differences
David was the ultimate Jewish leader. He was courageous and strong in war, as well as an intelligent statesman. He was a faithful friend and an inspiring leader. He was skillful at playing musical instruments and gifted in his ability to write Psalms (Tehilim) or songs of praise to God. In his relationship with God, he was reverent. David faithfully believed in the forgiving nature of God. David was “a man after God’s heart” (Acts 13:22). Even though David sinned many times, he was quick to confess his sins. Saul was a great military leader, but let his victories cloud his judgment and lead him away from God. “Saul usurped the priestly role” (Arnold & Beyer p 200), Saul relied on bribes to get others to fight Goliath: “The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel” (1 Samuel 17:25). David relied on his faith in God to defeat Goliath. David followed the Spirit through wisdom, not ambition. David’s confessions were from the heart, and his repentance was genuine.
Consequences, without trust you can’t lead
“Leaders are expected to set the example for others” (Tubbs, 1943, p. 279).Although God forgives sins and forgets iniquities, it doesn’t wipe out the consequences. David faced adversity from his own house. His wives were taken from him and faced public humiliation. He had to endure the death of a child because of his sinful marriage. The rape of his daughter by his own son Amnon, had Absalom avenge his sister killing his brother Amnon. Later plots against David’s throne and has sex with David’s concubines.
God forgives David and thereby restores that inner personal relationship between them so that David has a sense of peace and freedom from guilt. That is forgiveness. God never held back from David either his forgiveness or the consequences of his actions. David experienced the joy of forgiveness even when he had to suffer the consequences of his sins.
Spiritual truths and today’s application.
We have to be able to able to take responsibility of our actions, and also accept God’s forgiveness. Sin is deceptive. Sin and its pleasure cause us to take risks. However, the end of a sinful lifestyle is often bitter and causes us much pain and difficulty in our lives. Confession is good for the soul: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). Above all we might have to endure, God is there with us, waiting for us to repent and turn to Him.
Conclusion
We see how David was the greatest king Israel had, and besides his weakness and mistakes, he endured them with God’s strength and forgiveness. We need to learn like David and change, confess our sins with an open heart, and desire to trust in God, worship and seek a relationship with Him. There is no room for pride in forgiveness. We need to give it all to Christ; He bore all our sins in the cross, for Love.

References
Paul Hersey, K. B. (2013). Management of Organizational Behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
Tubbs, S. L. (1943). A system Approach to Small Group Interaction, 11th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill.