Israel’s most famous king was from a little-known place called Bethlehem. As a shepherd boy and the youngest of eight brothers, it would have seemed almost certain that he was destined to obscurity. But God delights to use the weak things of the world to do His will (1 Cor. 1:27), and so to everyone’s surprise, the prophet Samuel arrived one day and anointed David to be king. Henceforth, the Spirit of the Lord was upon him (1 Sam. 16:13), which he quickly proved by defeating the Philistine champion Goliath with no more than a sling (1 Sam. 17).
Instead of receiving acclaim, David endured the harshest persecution by his predecessor, the jealous and vengeful King Saul. Hiding in caves and living on the run, David found himself never more than a step away from death (1 Sam. 20:3). But as Saul and his kingship began to spiral down into ruin, God blessed and established David and eventually seated him on the throne of Israel.
David’s experience—humility and persecution leading to triumph and exaltation—was meant as a prophetic picture of a greater King to come. “The sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories” that would follow (1 Peter 1:11) are portrayed in David’s life and reflected in David’s psalms. David’s inspired songs are quoted dozens of times by the New Testament authors as being ultimately fulfilled in the humiliation and exaltation of Christ. This makes David a type of Christ, which is to say, his life and his words were designed to foreshadow the life and the work of our Savior. The prophets knew this and often referred to the coming Savior under the image and even the name of David (Ezek. 34:23; Hos. 3:5).
God made a covenant with David, promising that the Christ would come through his lineage and reign over an eternal kingdom (2 Sam. 7:12–16). This is why Matthew begins his gospel by saying, “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David” (Matt. 1:1). It is also why many who acknowledged Christ as the Savior called him “Son of David” (Matt. 15:22; 20:30). The resurrection of Christ was the fulfillment of “the sure mercies of David” (Isa. 55:3; Acts 13:34).
The risen Christ now eternally occupies and perfectly fulfills the three offices of prophet, priest, and king. As a prophet, He reveals God to man. As a priest, He represents His people before God. As a king, He rules over all things in righteousness. As a type of Christ, David uniquely foreshadowed the convergence of these offices in one individual. David was obviously a king, but we also catch glimpses of him in a priestly role, whether wearing an ephod (2 Sam. 6:14) or making a sacrifice (2 Sam. 24:18–25). David is also called a prophet (Acts 2:30), and in his last words he testified that “the Spirit of the Lord speaks by me” (2 Sam. 23:2). The fulfillment and perfection of these three offices by his greater Son was thus reflected in David’s life.
Yet even while David reflected the life of Christ, he (like all of us) was a sinner in need of Christ. His adultery with Bathsheba and his subsequent murder of her husband Uriah (2 Sam. 11) remind us that even a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14) is not immune to falling into great sin. David’s house was troubled with conflict and rebellion from that time forward, but the “sweet psalmist of Israel” (2 Sam. 23:1) left us with a genuine example of the heart of true repentance (Ps. 51) and the assurance that God is gracious and forgiving toward all those who call upon Him in faith (Ps. 145).
David’s love and longing for God are captured in some of the most beautiful images of Scripture that continue to guide and strengthen our faith today. It would be impossible to quantify how much comfort God’s people have derived over the centuries from Psalm 23 as each believer has made his journey through the valley of the shadow of death to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. But David’s greatest legacy is that he foresaw and foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ. David’s life and his psalms continue to point us to his greater Son.
Ligonier Ministries