David is known as a man after God’s heart. He is mentioned more times in the Bible than anyone other than God. Many of us immediately associate his name with his confrontation with the giant, Goliath. However, the Bible records many moments and events from his life. The life of David, like all of ours, was filled with highs and lows. A look at David provides numerous lessons from the life of this ancient king that all of us can apply to our lives today.
Many of you will be familiar with the term, Diamond in the rough. It can be used to describe a person with great potential that cannot be seen from the surface. This idiom comes from a literal diamond in the rough, which is uncut and unpolished. The phrase was adapted because “rough” diamonds look like rocks, so much so that they are often overlooked.
We’re introduced to David as a diamond in the rough of sorts. His rise from shepherd to a king is atypical, and this begins with how he came to be anointed as king. There is a character-defining event from David’s boyhood worth noting. It’s recorded in 1 Samuel 17 that David recounts the time while watching over his father’s sheep when a lion came and took a lamb. David went out after the lion and got the lamb out of the lion’s mouth. The lion rose against him, and he caught the lion by the beard and slew it! This feat seems to have been performed without weapons, but he could have used stones from the field and/or his shepherd’s crook.
We ought not to miss that it was the loss of one helpless lamb that’s the occasion that prompted David’s bravery. Arguably most shepherds would have considered the loss of one lamb far too insignificant to endanger their lives, not David. His love for the lamb and faithfulness to his father’s trust (giving him the duty to tend the sheep) moved him to act. This event demonstrates that although, as we will see in a minute, David is overlooked, he genuinely was a diamond in the rough. We discover that David was faithful in small things and, as a result, later was given bigger responsibilities to perform.
How was David anointed as king? Saul, the first king of Israel, had acted poorly and been rejected by God, so Samuel was sent to anoint a new one (1 Samuel 16:1). He was sent to the house of Jesse. An interesting scene unravels while Samuel searches for the son of Jesse chosen by God (1 Samuel 16:4-13).
Samuel goes to the house of Jesse, and beginning with the oldest, one by one, the sons of Jesse come out before him. Samuel is impressed by Jesse’s oldest son, Eliab’s outward appearance, which he also had done with the current king Saul (1 Sam 10:24). However, God is not choosing by outward appearances but looking much deeper. The prophet must have been troubled because he knew the next king was among Jesse’s sons, but the Lord had chosen none who were present. Then, Samuel asks Jesse if he has more sons, and Jesse mentions David. Jesse doesn’t seem to take note of David’s courage and faithfulness. At least, he didn’t think presenting him to Samuel with his other sons was necessary. In fact, David had been overlooked as a diamond in the rough.
Then David, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, is called from the field where he was shepherding and presented to Samuel. Samuel anoints David as king, and David is filled with the Spirit of God from that day forward. But, interestingly, David doesn’t rule as king for another twenty years. At first, he even continued to help his father with shepherding the sheep.
I can’t imagine being anointed king and returning to shepherding duties. However, in a sense, this is true of all who come to Christ. We find new life in Christ through the grace of God. Peter describes the church as a “royal priesthood” and God’s “holy nation.” As children of the king, we are called to “proclaim the excellencies” of the one who summoned us from “darkness” and ushered us “into His marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). When we enter into a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we become a child of the King. Yet, we return to our homes, workplaces, schools, and places where we play, albeit as everyday missionaries. Think about it, A believer is a child of the king, proclaiming our Lord’s goodness and salvation to all who receive Christ as Savior and Lord.
David was a servant who became a ruler; he was the faithful shepherd of sheep and became the leader of a nation. So here’s the gospel truth, there is no limit to what God can do in and through the life of all of us diamonds in the rough when we walk with Him.
David was overlooked and became a king. You might have been overlooked. You may be a diamond in the rough. But God sees you, loves you, and has great plans for you. So give yourself over to him. After all, God desires every one of us diamonds in the rough to step into our divine destiny with Him. Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)!