Prophet David

After the death of King Saul, David became the king of the Jews. David was the best of all the kings of Judah. He unwaveringly believed in the true God and took care to do His will. He endured many persecutions from Saul and other enemies, but he did not become angry, he did not raise his hand against Saul, as the anointed of God, and he placed all his hope in God, and the Lord delivered him from all enemies. David was meek and pious.

But it also happened to David that he fell into great sins. Then he regretted them from the bottom of his heart, wet his bed with tears at night, and after that he became even better and loved God even more.

And so, one evening, King David was walking on the roof of the royal house and saw a very beautiful young woman. David wished he had her for his wife. He learned that the woman's name was Bathsheba and that she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite. Uriah was at war at that time (the war was then fought with the Ammonites). A strong desire arose in David for Uriah to die. That evil, sinful desire, the emperor did not overcome in himself and ordered the commander of the army to place Uriah during the fight so that they could kill him. David's wish was granted. Bathsheba, learning of her husband's death, wept for him.

When the time of Birasavi's weeping was over, King David sent for her and took her to his home, and she became his wife. Soon a son was born to Bathsheba, and David did not even notice that he had committed a great sin to God.

Then, by the command of God, the prophet Nathan came to King David and said to him: "In one city lived two men: one rich and the other poor. The rich man had many small and large cattle, and the poor man had nothing but one sheep, which he bought as a baby and she grew up with his children, she ate, drank, slept with him and was like a daughter to him.But a traveler approached the rich man.To entertain the traveler, the rich man took pity on his sheep and oxen, and he took a sheep from the poor and slaughtered it for his guest. "

King David became very angry with such a man and said to Nathan: "The living Lord (ie I swear to God), the man who did this is worthy of death, and he is obliged to pay four times as much for a sheep, because he did it, and he was not sorry. "

Then Nathan said to David, "This man is you. Thus saith the Lord GOD; I have anointed thee king over Israel; I have delivered thee out of the hand of Saul: why hast thou despised the word of the LORD? Thou hast taken Uriah's wife, and hast killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Therefore the sword will not depart from your house. I will bring evil on you from your house. "

And David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the Lord."

Nathan said to him, "The Lord has taken away your sin; you will not die, but the son who was born to you will die." And the prophet Nathan went to his home.

David, realizing how evil he had acted, deeply repented. He prayed to God with tears, fasted, lay on the ground. On the seventh day, the newborn died.

David's sin was great, but his repentance was sincere and great. And God forgave him. During his repentance, King David wrote a prayer of repentance - a song (Psalm 50), which became a pattern of repentance and begins with these words: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your great mercy and according to the abundance of your mercy, cleanse my iniquities." cleanse me from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin ... "

For the great faith, meekness and obedience of King David, the Lord blessed his reign and helped him in everything.

He successfully waged wars with neighboring nations.

David conquered the city of Jerusalem and made it the capital of the Jewish kingdom. Instead of the old Tabernacle of Moses, he set up a new Tabernacle in Jerusalem and triumphantly transferred the Ark of the Covenant to it.

David wanted to build a permanent temple, but the Lord said, "You will not build a temple, because you fought a lot and shed a lot of blood; your son will make it, who will be king after you."

But at that time the Lord told David, "Thy throne shall endure for ever." This meant that from his descendants would come the Savior of the world - Christ, who would reign forever. And we know that Jesus Christ was often called the son of David.

David wrote many sacred songs, or psalms, which he sang in prayer to God, playing the fiddle or other musical instruments. In these songs - prayers, David called on God, repented of his sins before Him, sang the majesty of God and foretold the coming of Christ and the suffering that Christ will suffer for us. That is why the Holy Church calls King David a psalmist and a prophet.

The Psalms of David are often read and sung in the Church at worship services. The holy book, which contains all these psalms, or songs, is called the psalter. The Psalter is the best book of the Old Testament. Many Christian prayers are composed of words from the psalms.

David reigned forty years and died in old age. He appointed his son Solomon as his successor during his lifetime. The high priest Zadok and the prophet of God Nathan anointed him king. Before his death, David made a vow to Solomon, that he should make a temple of God.