Nadene Goldfoot
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According to the Bible, Samuel, the Prophet, anointed David as king of Israel after God chose David to lead the people: King David ruled from c.1000 -960 BCE, and was the youngest son of Jesse, born in Bethlehem. According to the Bible, Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth and of Boaz. He lived in Bethlehem, in Judah, and was of the Tribe of Judah, he was a farmer, breeder and owner of sheep. He was a prominent resident of the town of Bethlehem.
Jesse was the grandson of Ruth and her husband, Boaz. Jesse lived in Bethlehem but for fear of Saul, lived for a time in Moab. Ruth was a Moabite. Her Israelite husband, Mahlon, died so she went his mother; her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Bethlehem and eventually re-married Naomi's cousin, Boaz. Boaz was wealthy with property. The ROYAL HOUSE OF DAVID is known as THE STOCK OR ROOT OF JESSE. (Is. 11:1.10)
Saul suffers with headaches and David, also a musician, soothes him with his music with his harp. King Saul David and Saul, oil on canvas by Ernst Josephson, 1878; in the National museum, Stockholm, Sweden. Saul was son of Kish from the tribe of Benjamin, yet to fight against the Philistines and Ammonites. He would have to make expeditions against the Moabites, Ammonites, and Arameans. Internally, he carried out a purification of religions and elimination of witchcraft.
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At age 25 David became King Saul's, (Israel's first king), armor-bearer. He had been the best friend of the king's son, Jonathan. He fought in the war against the Philistines and showed Saul his military prowess, so for that was chosen as King Saul's daughter Michal's husband. David went on to take other wives, but never as many as his son, Solomon, would have.
David was such an outstanding young man that Saul became jealous of him, and it became dangerous for David. He sought refuge with Achish, king of Gath. David returned to Israel after Saul and 3 of his sons had been defeated and killed in battle at Mt. Gilboa. David decided to live in Hebron and while there, declared himself king of Judah, a rather egotistical act !
Was David ever immoral? Yes, according to the Bible, King David committed several immoral acts, most notably committing adultery with Bathsheba and then arranging for her husband Uriah to be killed in battle to cover up the affair; this is considered a significant immoral act in the biblical narrative. He committed 4 immoral acts during his life: Without a code to follow, he didn't know.
- Adultery: David had an affair with Bathsheba, who was married to Uriah the Hittite.
- Murder: To conceal his adultery, David sent Uriah to the front lines of battle with the intention of getting him killed.
- Abuse of Power: As king, David used his authority to facilitate his affair and cover up his crimes.
- Deception: He attempted to deceive the prophet Nathan about his actions.
At first, Saul's general, Abner, sided with David's opponent, Saul's son, Eshbaal by crowning him king in Mahanaim. After Elkshbaal's murder, all the tribes accepted David as king!
After being king for 8 years, David captured the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem and made it his capital. Eventually, he moved the ARK there. He was able to break the Philistine military power and annexed the entire coastal belt ! He defeated the Edomites which by that move, gave the Israelites an outlet to the Red Sea at Ezion-Geber.
Our King David was considered a very moral person. He was chosen as King of Israel before the time of Moses leading the Israelites out of their Egyptian Servitude that amounted to a 40 year march to escape from that land after living there for 400 years.God chose David because of his good heart, not his appearance. though he was said to be good looking and had gingy colored hair. God told Samuel to look at the heart, not the outward appearance. Samuel anointed David in front of his brothers when David was around 15 years old. The Spirit of the Lord took control of David immediately after the anointing. David reigned for 40 years and became the most famous king in Israel's history.
What gave Samuel, the Prophet, the ability to be able to choose a leader for a growing population of Israelites who clamored their need for a king?
Before the Israelites arrived in Canaan to live, the elders of this community acted as judges over problematic situations. Afterward, the soldier-leader, priest, or prophet took on this responsibility as well as their original ones. So, we find the prophet, Samuel, traveled from place to place to administer justice. (I Sam.i7:15-17).
Samuel was the last Israelite JUDGE, something they had before the need for a king over all. He was born into a Levitical family and lived on Mt. Ephraim and Ramah in the land of Zuph. His mother consecrated him before he was born as a Nazirite who would serve in the sanctuary at Shiloh. While there, he received a Divine call as a child and later prophesized the destruction of THE HOUSE OF ELI and his sons and the decisive defeat of the Israelites by the Philistines at the BATTLE OF APHEK. Samuel tried to restore the traditional religious worship . He lived in Ramah and judged the Israelites in the sacred towns of Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpeh, preparing the way for national unity. He started groups of prophets that formed to guide the people. In his old age, he reluctantly gave into popular demand for a king and had picked Saul, but lived to experience tension between himself and Saul.It was Moses who established the rules of morality, however, written down as the Torah, our 5 Books of Moses that starts the Old Testament. He eventually throughout the 40 years of traveling, gave his charges 613 rules of morality to keep them on the straight and narrow path.
How was it that David had morals? He hadn't even been given the list from Moses as yet. His genes and his environment including his relationship with his parents decide his thoughts and ways.
Today's Matt Gaetz is up for an important position to be attorney general has many Justice Department employees reeling, worried not only about their own jobs but the future of the agency that the Trump loyalist has railed against. The president-elect’s pick of the Florida Republican sent a shock throughout the Cabinet department, considering Gaetz’s lack of experience in law enforcement and the fact that he was once the subject of a federal sex trafficking investigation. The names of well-regarded veteran lawyers had circulated as possible contenders for the job, but Gaetz’s selection was broadly interpreted as an indication of the premium that Trump places on personal loyalty and Trump’s desire to have a disruptor lead a department that for years investigated and ultimately indicted him. In other words, the Justice Department was mean to him, so he is punishing that department with Matt Gaetz. Matt was once under investigation for sex trafficking!
I can say to look at the parents and ancestors of Matt Gaetz and their ways of behaving towards him and others. They set down their rules, and either follow them diligently and fairly with love or are just plain lax. It's either Matt's environment or his genes that create his behaviors. Now look at Trump's reasons for selecting him in the first place. Trump is using such a man as Matt for his own personal reasons.
The term “Zion” (צִיּוֹן, pronounced Tziyon in Hebrew) holds a profound significance both in the Bible and today. “Zion” (צִיּוֹן, pronounced “Tziyon”) means “a sign” or “a landmark.” The root צ-י-ן forms a verb in modern Hebrew today that means “to point out.”
As for David, many of us Jews have turned to DNA analysis and find we have many cousins, even 5th cousins can register in our list. Many of us claim a DNA connection to David. Actually, it is said that all Jews are at the least, 30th cousins, because it was originally a family way of belief that grew into a nationalistic empire; squashed long ago but revived before it was too late. I am always happy to see we are trying to follow our moral codes no matter what the problems are. They make up our soul.
Resource:
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saul-king-of-Israel
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saul-king-of-Israel
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