I want to look at for a moment the life of David and how God led him from the shepherd's fields to be a warrior and then a king. Each step along the way God was guiding and he used the early experiences that David had to teach him things he would need to know for the next step. Much like God still does today when he uses life's experiences to teach us things that we need to know in order for us to be fruitful in our ministries and life.
I will mention first though that it was not an original part of God's plan for Israel to have earthly kings. Samuel was the judge over Israel when he was getting older and the people did not want Samuel's sons to be judges over them. So, they said that they wanted to be like the nations around them and have a king 1 Samuel 8:5. God understood their request as a rejection of his being king over them 1 Samuel 8:7-8. God would first give them a king like the nations around them in the person of Saul. Then he would give them next a king after God's own heart which was David 1 Samuel 16:7.
I. David the Shepherd- 1 Samuel 17:15. David was a shepherd because he was the youngest of all the son's of Jesse. Jesse did not even invite David to the sacrifice at first when Samuel came to anoint the next king. Instead they had to wait for David to come in from the fields. David learned important lessons about being a shepherd and caring for a flock. Later, that flock would become the people of Israel. He said that if a lion or bear tried to attack his sheep he would seize it and kill it 1 Samuel 17:34-36. David was offended when he came in from the fields and heard Goliath taunting God's army in Israel.
I think it is important to realize that David was not just offended by Goliath's comments, but that he said something. He understood that Israel was the people of God and that by Goliath taunting them he was also taunting God's authority. This was a lesson David first learned in the fields and then applied to the battlefield. His devotion to worship was noted by Saul's servants as a skillful musician 1 Samuel 16:18. He became offended and told Goliath and those who were there that day that the battle belongs to the Lord 1 Samuel 17:47. Here we see David's trust in God when facing an overwhelming and large enemy. He realized that God was bigger than his fears or worries. He alos had to be patient and not take things into his own hands and kill Saul himself 1 Samuel 24:11.
II. David as Warrior- the time period of David really being a warrior starts with Goliath, but does not end there. One of the reasons that God gives for David not being allowed to build the temple was because David was a man of bloodshed 2 Samuel 7. David would spend years first fighting fro Saul 1 Samuel 18:5. To the point that the women of Israel sang a song that made Saul jealous that while Saul had killed his thousands, that David had killed his tens of thousands. This led to a great deal of conflict between them and jealous rage that may have made Saul mentally unstable 1 Samuel 16:14. Saul was given into the hands of David several times when David could have killed Saul, but he said that he didn't have the right to lift up his hands against God's anointed 1 Samuel 24:10.
III. David the king- Even though he was anointed as king years earlier by Samuel 1 Samuel 16:13, David had to wait years before Saul died and God made David king over Judah and then Israel. God made David king over Judah 2 Samuel 2:4 and then later the northern kingdom of Israel 2 Samuel 5:3-5. The timing of this shows us that even when God has given us something he waits until we are ready to handle what he has given us. David was king over Judah alone for 7 years and 6 months and then later became king of all Israel for 33 years. God was the one who took David from the pasture to rule over Israel 2 Samuel 7:8 and God blessed him and made his name great 2 Samuel 7:9. Ultimately, God's plan for David was far greater than David even realized and that through his lineage that Jesus would come and establish a king that would never end. Please notice that in both Matthew and Luke's lineage accounts David is mentioned.
https://prabook.com/web/david.(king_of_israel)/1346737 picture from this site.
