King David in the Bible: God Looks at the Heart

Imagine Samuel walking toward Bethlehem with a horn of oil. The LORD was sending him to Jesse's house, for he had chosen a king from among Jesse's sons. Perhaps his steps were heavy: Saul still reigned, and Samuel himself said Saul would kill him if he heard of it. The LORD told him to take a heifer and invite Jesse to the sacrifice.

Jesse's sons passed before Samuel one by one. Seeing Eliab, the eldest, Samuel was sure he was the LORD's anointed. But the LORD corrected him.

But the LORD said to Samuel: "Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature, because I have rejected him. Not as man sees does God see, because man sees the appearance but the LORD looks into the heart." (1 Sm 16:7)

New American Bible: 1 Sm 16:1–23:28

Seven sons passed, and none was chosen. The youngest was still out tending the sheep. David was brought in from the fields, and the LORD told Samuel this was the one. Amid his brothers David was anointed with oil, and from that day the spirit of the LORD rushed upon him.

Meanwhile the spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and the Book of Samuel says an evil spirit from the LORD tormented him. His servants sought a lyre player, and David was brought to court. Saul loved him greatly and made him his armor-bearer. Whenever David played the lyre, Saul found relief.

Then war broke out with the Philistines. Saul and the Israelites camped in the Valley of the Terebinth, the two armies on opposite hills with a valley between. Goliath of Gath, six cubits and a span tall, came forward morning and evening for forty days, challenging Israel to single combat. Imagine his voice echoing while Saul and all Israel were terrified.

Jesse sent David with roasted grain and bread for his older brothers in the camp. There David heard Goliath's challenge himself and asked who this Philistine was to insult the armies of the living God. Eliab scolded him, but David kept asking until word reached Saul.

Before the king, David offered himself. Saul hesitated: David was young, while Goliath had been a warrior since his youth. David said that as a shepherd he used to chase lions and bears that carried off a sheep from the flock and rescue it from their mouths.

David continued: "The LORD, who delivered me from the claws of the lion and the bear, will also keep me safe from the clutches of this Philistine." Saul answered David, "Go! the LORD will be with you." (1 Sm 17:37)

New American Bible: 1 Sm 16:1–23:28

Saul clothed David in his own armor, but David could not walk in it and took it off. He took his staff, chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and held his sling. Perhaps the soldiers held their breath as a young shepherd went down without armor. Goliath despised David for his youth.

David answered him: "You come against me with sword and spear and scimitar, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel that you have insulted. (1 Sm 17:45)

New American Bible: 1 Sm 16:1–23:28

David ran forward and slung a stone. It struck Goliath's forehead, and he fell face down. David overcame him without a sword in hand, and the Philistines fled.

From that day Jonathan, Saul's son, was bound to David heart and soul. He made a covenant with David and gave him his cloak and weapons. But when the women sang that Saul had slain thousands and David tens of thousands, Saul grew jealous. Twice he hurled his spear at David as he played the lyre.

Saul sent David away, hoping he would die at the hands of the Philistines. But the LORD was with David; he succeeded in everything and married Michal, Saul's daughter. When Saul again sought to kill him, Jonathan defended him. Later Michal let David down through a window and put a household image in the bed to deceive Saul's messengers.

David fled to Samuel at Ramah, then met Jonathan. At the new moon feast Saul raged and even hurled his spear at his own son. With the sign of the arrows, Jonathan told David to go. The two friends wept together, remembering their oath in the name of the LORD, and parted.

Alone, David came to Nob. He lied to Ahimelech the priest that he was on a secret mission for the king, and received the holy bread and Goliath's sword. Doeg the Edomite, Saul's servant, was there. From Nob David fled to Achish, king of Gath, and in great fear pretended to be mad. Perhaps this was his most fragile moment.

At the cave of Adullam his family and all who were in distress gathered to him, about four hundred men. Meanwhile Doeg reported Ahimelech. Saul's servants refused to kill the priests, but Doeg did it at Saul's command, and eighty-five priests died. Abiathar escaped, and David admitted to him that he was the chief cause of his family's death.

On the run, David kept asking the LORD. Before rescuing Keilah from the Philistines, he asked first, and the LORD told him to go. Learning that Keilah's people would hand him over, he left with about six hundred men. In the wilderness of Ziph, Jonathan came to strengthen his trust in God and told him he would be king over Israel.

Then the Ziphites revealed his hiding place. In the wilderness of Maon, Saul was closing in on David and his men, but news came of a Philistine raid on the land, and Saul broke off the pursuit. God did not deliver David into Saul's hand. David went on to the strongholds of En-gedi.

The Background of King David

In his general audience of June 24, 2020, Pope Francis recalled that David's story begins in the hills around Bethlehem, where he tended his father Jesse's flock. David, the Pope said, was first a shepherd who cared for his animals, defended them from danger and found them food, and also a sensitive soul who loved music and song.

According to tradition, David is the great artist behind the Psalms, and Jewish tradition links most psalms to him. Pope Benedict XVI cited Psalm 3, which Jewish tradition connects with David's flight from Jerusalem when his own son Absalom seized the throne.

David's story continues long after En-gedi, up to 1 Kings 2. Pope Benedict XVI noted that he later became king of Israel and shepherd of the People of God, and that God's promise through the prophet Nathan concerns a descendant of David who will reign forever, a promise that, in Christian interpretation, is fulfilled in Christ.

The Shepherd Chosen by God

Pope Francis teaches that David was loved by God from his youth and chosen for a mission central to the history of the People of God. In keeping with God's promises, the Messiah came from his line, and Jesus, like David, was born in Bethlehem. Pope Benedict XVI calls David a messianic figure, the Lord's Anointed, who in some way prefigures the mystery of Christ. So this young shepherd can be read as a foreshadowing of Christ, the Good Shepherd and Son of David.

Pope Benedict XVI also acknowledged that David remained a seeker of God though he often sinned gravely, and that as a humble penitent he received God's forgiveness. Perhaps the seed of this already shows when David admits his fault before Abiathar and keeps asking the LORD during his flight.

For teenagers and young adults, the story touches several things. God looks at the heart, not at grades, popularity or birth order. David's victory came not from powerful weapons but from trust in the LORD. Jonathan's friendship shows courageous loyalty, kept before the LORD, even at a cost.

This story is retold by the Light of Saints editorial team from the Catholic edition of Scripture and the Church sources listed, with the help of AI, and checked by an editor. Some of the atmosphere and the characters' feelings are our portrayal. For the full text, read the passage in Scripture.