What Kind Of David Are You?

Celebrate (be thankful)! “[David] spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day that the Lord saved [David] from the hand of a”ll [David] enemies and from the hand of Saul. And [David] said, "I love You, O Lord, my strength.” {Tehillim 18:1-2}
Explanation: Here is the moment that you has been waiting for. You have already been anointed King, all you had to do was play the waiting game until Shaul died. All of your emotions are bubbling up inside of you and once Shaul dies you’re able to express them. You express your excitement and joy of finally being able to be king, but it’s not just about being king for you. You no longer have to live his life in fear of being killed by Shaul. Your enemy is gone and now you have all of the power. Who wouldn't be excited about this?

Mourn. “And David took hold of his clothes and rent them, and likewise all the men who were with him. And they lamented and wept and fasted until evening, for Saul.” {Shmuel Bet 1:11-12}
Explanation: What a sad time for You. The one who took you into his palace, gave you a wife and a home, is gone. The one who refers to you as his own son, is gone. Your heart drops at the thought of not having your own father-figure with you. You father-in-law is dead, and you are heartbroken.

Mourn. “And David said to all the people who were with him, "Rend your clothes and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and wail before Abner. And King David went after the bier.” (Shmuel Bet 3:31).
Explanation: Though he was originally on your enemy’s side, he did say he would help bring all of Israel under your control, so it would only be respectful to mourn Abner as he was (supposedly) loyal to you in his final days. After all, he is a person, and all life is precious. Even though Shaul was your enemy, you mourned him properly, so why should this be any different?

Celebrate!
Explanation: He may have promised you the nation of Israel but he was your enemy’s commander after all. Maybe it was all a trick to sabotage you and your army so that Ish-bosheth can gain control of your territory as well. Ish-bosheth is the son of the man who tried to kill you! Why should you trust anyone who works for him? He probably used Abner to manipulate you, just as Shaul used his children to try and manipulate you.

(Be thankful) Of course you go! How could you pass up an opportunity like this? You “[went] to Saul, and stood before him; and [you] loved him greatly; and [you] became his armour-bearer” (Shmuel Aleph 16:21). What a win!
Explanation: After being a shepherd for so long, now is your time to shine. Working at the palace for the king would be so great for his “reputation”. Who would pass down an offer like this? You are more than thankful.

(Be “mournful”) No way. You get one offer from the King, and you immediately leave your family behind?
Explanation: This is can not be the right path. You need your family and your family needs you, you can’t leave them behind. Also, how do you know that this is an actual offer? These “servants” could be from a foreign land and are trying to play a trick on you. Something doesn’t add up. You stay home.

Be “thankful” for the opportunity to prove yourself. After all of these years of being a shepherd, now you get to show how strong you are. So you take “a stone, and slung it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth” (Shmuel Aleph, 17:49). You prove everyone wrong!
Explanation: So many emotions are running through your (David’s) head. First of all, you just killed a giant! How crazy! This is amazing. Second, you are a little bit nervous to see how the people around you react. Will they be threatened, think you are brave, or not acknowledge it at all?

“Mourn” the loss of the opportunity. You are just a shepherd. You don’t have any experience in fighting, especially a giant “whose height was six cubits and a span. And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was clad with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass” (Shmuel Aleph 17:4-5). This is crazy!
Explanation: You are just a shepherd. You, in no way, have what it takes to defeat this giant. If the people around you don’t believe in you, why should you believe in yourself? This is too big of a risk to take.

Do it and be “thankful” for this opportunity. You “arose and went, [you]... slew of the Philistines two hundred men; and [you] brought their foreskins, and.. gave them...to the king” (Shmuel Aleph 18:27).
Explanation: You don’t spend much time socializing, so this is definitely something important. Also, killing the philistines won’t be a big deal for you. You already killed Goliat, this shouldn’t be as hard.

You can’t do it and you “mourn”.
Explanation: Killing Goliat was just lucky. There is no way you could kill two hundred philistines! It is not right and it is just too hard. You have to pass on this one. There are other fish in the sea.

Mourn. “How [could] wicked men have slain an innocent man in his own house on his bed.” (Shmuel Bet 4:11).
Explanation: How could these men have have killed your brother-in-law just when he was at his weakest? This man’s father gave you your wife, his son gave you his love, and this is how is repaid? By your men murdering him while he was weak and defenseless? This man is your relative, a part of the family you came into upon entering the palace. The bond of family is sacred and should be honored as such. The life of a loved one is now gone and you must respect it.

Be thankful
Explanation: This man is the son of Shaul, the man who tried to murder you on several occasions! You can now rest easy, knowing that you no longer have anyone to fear in Shaul’s family. Additionally, this will allow you to bring ALL of Israel under your control without having to deal with a massive war. You no longer have to worry about your safety or your rule over your people, as you are now recognized as the only king.

Be “thankful” for the opportunity to finally kill Shaul and do it. Why wouldn’t you?
Explanation: Your heart is pounding, the one who has been trying to kill you is standing right in front of you. Your instincts tell you to kill him, and you can’t resist. You sneak up from behind and stab him. As you walk away, you take his crown.

Mourn. Don’t kill him, but do cut his cloak. Cutting his cloak could resemble the death of Shaul’s kingship, so you cut his cloak and mourn. So, “[you] arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe” (Shmuel Aleph, 24:5).
Explanation: You can’t kill Shaul. Afterall, he still is the king. Killing him could be a big mistake for you. After you cut his robe, your “heart smote [you], because [you] had cut off Saul’s skirt” (Shmuel Aleph 24:6). If you feel this bad for just cutting his cloak, you can’t even imagine how you would feel after you killed him!

Be thankful for the opportunity to express how you really feel and go find him.
Explanation: You can’t just have everything left unsaid. You need to explain yourself to Shaul, show him you are still just as powerful as he is, and explain that he has got some trouble coming his way. You tell him: “The LORD judge between me and thee, and the LORD avenge me of thee; but my hand shall not be upon thee” (Shmuel Aleph, 24:13). You make it clear to him that G-d is on your side and will go after him.

After cutting of his robe, all you want to do is “mourn” for his kingship.
Explanation: What good would come out of going after him? You would exchange some nasty remarks, and be done with it. You feel bad for Shaul because he lost his kingship, why would you go and remind him of it?

This was a good idea, be thankful.
Explanation: You are thankful for the opportunity to start your kingship by showing everyone who is in charge. You kill Yoav and make sure everyone knows it was your idea. You are in charge, everyone should know that. You don’t feel bad about killing Yoav because after all, he did kill Avner.
Really upset, mourn.

Really upset, mourn.
Explanation: Now is not the time to be killing anyone, but what is done is done. You need to mourn the loss of Avner AND Yoav. There has been so much death already, no reason to add to it. And “[you] lamented for Abner” (Shmuel Bet, 3:32) and Yoav.

Be thankful
Explanation: Hallelujah! You are finally the king over THE WHOLE NATION OF ISRAEL! Way to go you! You had the power in you all along, and with God by your side you are unstoppable! Congratulations! Who would have thought that lowly shepherd boy would one day be king? You proved all of those haters wrong!

Mourn. “Also, in times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out and brought them in, and the Lord said to you, you shall shepherd my nation Israel, and you shall be a ruler over Israel.” (Shmuel Bet 5:2).
Explanation: Yeah, you’re king but just look at the price that was paid in order to so. You are essentially responsible for not only Shaul’s downfall but for the death of his son as well. Did you really earn the right to be king or did you just gain your throne through bloodshed? Is the crown truly yours? Have you rightfully earned it?

Mourn.
Explanation: Look how much you have had to sacrifice to get to this point. You were separated from your family to live in the palace with a king who kept trying to kill you! Your brother was killed in the war against the Philistines. Your brother-in-law, whom you loved dearly. You had to kill your own brother-in-law to gain all this power. Was all this suffering really worth it?

Be thankful “And David dwelt in the stronghold and he called it the city of David. And David built round about from the mound and inward. And David grew steadily greater, and the Lord the God of Hosts [was] with him.” (Shmuel Bet 5:9-10).
Explanation:YOU JUST GOT A CITY NAMED AFTER YOU!!!! You deserve it! I mean after all that trouble you went through with that murderous father-in-law of yours. Besides, the Lord chose YOU to be king over all Israel so why not get some recognition for it?