Of the early lives of Saul and David little is recorded. Both reigned forty years, but there is no precise information about their ages. Josephus says that David died at 70. This may well be for the 90th Psalm says, “The days of our years are three score years and ten”, and of David it is written, “He died in a good old age, full of days . . .” (1 Ch 29:28) Thus, assuming 70 to be approximately correct, he would have been 30 when he ascended the throne. Therefore, Saul had reigned 10 years when David was born.
His father was Jesse. There is only one reference to his mother,(1 Sam 22:3) but she is not named. Neither is there indication of her predecessors. David was the youngest of eight brothers, and there were two sisters. Again, we do not know if the mother of these was David’s mother.
David’s grandfather was Obed, the son of Ruth and Boaz who, therefore, were David’s paternal great-grandparents. It is possible that David would know much about Ruth and Boaz through his father’s telling and re-telling of stories relating to such a worthy pair. Human life had reached similar lengths to those we know today, so contact with them was improbable.
Boaz is included in both New Testament genealogies of Jesus, for he was in the direct line of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
It is not until he is about 16 that David is first met in the annals of scripture. He is by then an accomplished shepherd:
“He was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to.”(1 Sa 16:12)
At this stage he was at least on the way to being “a man after God’s own heart”, for so Samuel told Saul of his successor, although Samuel himself knew not at that time of David’s identity (1 Sa 13:14).
It may be that David was not closely knit to his brothers who, probably, were “men of the world”. To his father, David appears to be of much lesser consequence. The visit of Samuel to Jesse’s household is an illustration. One by one the seven brothers face the scrutiny of the prophet. All are rejected. Samuel is puzzled. One imagines his perplexity as he asked Jesse, “Are here all thy children?” (1 Sa 16:11) Jesse replies,”There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold he keepeth the sheep”, but the tone, one senses, is “There’s David, but what of it. He’s only the lad!”
A little later, when the challenge of Goliath held the forces of Israel in thrall, he is regarded as a “nosey parker” by his eldest brother. David had supplemented their rations with food provided by Jesse. Naturally David wants to know the cause of the tension in the camp. His brother unkindly addresses him: “Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.”
How we can recognise David’s despair as he says, “What have I now done? . . .” (1 Sa 17:28-29)
We turn back the history of a little over a quarter of a century. A deputation waits on Samuel who, with bitterness of soul, hears a request that Israel shall be given a king “like all the nations”. There is good reason for complaint, “Thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways” (1 Sa 8:5).
The earnest remonstrance of Samuel, pointing out some of the indignities this new allegiance would bring, only receives national confirmation of this new determination:
“. . . Nay, but we will have a king over us; that we may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.”
In due time Saul became king. He proved to be a man’s man, but not a God’s man.
It was to put the nation on a new road and to restore belief that Israel was God’s kingdom on earth that David was chosen to replace Saul.
The silence that reigns when we approach the early years of David means there are no clear guides as to the influences on his mind during boyhood. Much as we would like to know of the existence of maternal instruction, a veil is very tightly drawn over his early years.
In the fields with the flock, enduring the varying rigours of climate by day and by night, the innate spirituality of David was made manifest and developed. With the gift of musical appreciation and spiritually attuned observation, the godly character opened like a gloriously perfumed flower. The faith and trust that confidently led him to face Goliath had its springs in the wild and rugged countryside.
Whoever led the way in the early years, it was without doubt the experiences of the shepherd life that taught him the evidences of Divine existence. His recognition of God is found in what is called Nature. It is to the field and not to the home that his writings lead us. The time at his disposal encouraged devotional cogitation. The Lord Himself, the heavens and its orbs, the rocks, the animals, whether domesticated or wild, brought the conviction, “The hand that made them is Divine”. This is not a natural consequence of being a shepherd. The cause is higher. His experiences drew out the real David and paved the way for the responsibilities of kingship, an honour of which neither he nor his family dreamed.
The Psalms ring out with the music of his contemplations:
“O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. . . . What is man, that thou art mindful of him? . . . Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands . . . all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field . .
“Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.”
“So we thy people and the sheep of thy pasture will give thee thanks for ever.”
“For he is our God; and we are the people a his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
Later in life he was reminded, “I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel.”(2 Sa 7:8) Not the choice of an ignorant, country simpleton, but the selection of one whose thoughts and conduct reflected the heart of God Himself.
“He chose David also His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: from following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance.”(Ps 78:70)
The effect of his education follows in the next verse:
“So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands.” (Ps 78:72)
The Biblical emphasis on the early preparation of David’s life is not on what he received by heredity, but from the providential circumstances guiding his life. And this may account for complete silence on the very matters that are so valuable in the compilation of normal biographical material.
The secret is contained in the absolute conviction expressed in the Twenty-third Psalm. The path of a faithful life is fully portrayed:
“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” (Ps 23:1)
To David the latter is the logical sequence of the first statement. There is peace, restoration of soul, guidance in extreme danger, and a certain provision in spite of enemies. And the great and final culmination:
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” (Ps 23:6)
Truly, “a man after God’s own heart”!
Reflections on the Potter and the Clay