Fireside: The Proverbs of David

“When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.”

Psalm 27:10

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David, The Follower

It is no secret that David was a man after God’s heart. David admired the Lord, and the Lord admired David. Jehovah invaded every part of David’s life, for David invited Him into every phase of his journey:

• As Soldier
• As Shepherd
• As Musician
• As King
• As Husband
• As a Son

And also as a father.

David’s rough-cut character is viewed as a historical phenomenon. We view him as larger than life, unapproachable, too high to reach. He was as royal as an Arthur, as charming as a Roosevelt, as wealthy as a Carnegie, as commanding as a Schwarzkopf.

Yet if David truly held the heart of God he had a Father’s heart. Though we don’t put much attention on it, David was a good father. We can see his paternal care in his son, Solomon.

The Bible honestly exposes the circumstances of how Solomon came to be. David and Bathsheba were never meant to be, but for supernatural grace and forgiveness. After their first child buried under the wages of sin, the Bible says:

“And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.“

2 Samuel 12:24

David, the Father

David loved the Lord more than anything. And David loved the son God gave him. And he wanted his son to be more than what he was. He wanted him to avoid the snares he fell into.

Therefore, in addition to David loving the law and singing Psalms; he penned Proverbs to his son. Solomon recorded them, and included them in his writings:

“Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law.

For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. He [David] taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.”

Proverbs 4:1-4

Ponder this tremendous truth today as you read your Proverb of the day. Those written by Solomon are clearly marked. (“The proverbs of Solomon” in Proverbs 1:1, 10:1, and 25:1) Those written by a pen-name or another author are also marked. (“The words of Agur”, “The words of king Lemuel”, in Proverbs 30:1 and 31:1)

Thus, the introduction of Proverbs 4 begins ‘The Proverbs of David.’ It is reasonable to think that David wrote Proverbs chapters 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Could we expect anything less of “David the son of Jesse, a man after mine [God’s] own heart, which shall fulfil all my will”? (Acts 13:22)

I, for one, will never read those chapters the same ever again. May God bless your meditations along with mine.

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