What About David's Mother?

What about David’s mother?

PR 31:10 A good woman is hard to find and worth far more than diamonds. 11 Her husband trusts her without reserve, and never has reason to regret it. 23 Her husband is greatly respected when he deliberates with the city fathers. 25 She always faces tomorrow with a smile. 26 When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say, and she always says it kindly. 27 She keeps an eye on everyone in her household, and keeps them all busy and productive. 28 Her children respect and bless her; her husband joins in with words of praise: 29 "Many women have done wonderful things, but you’ve outclassed them all!" 30 Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades. The woman to be admired and praised is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.

On this day that we honor mothers, it’s good for us to think about how much you really do. Being a mother is not an easy task. When a child has reached 18, a mother has had to around 18,000 hours of child-generated work. Did you know that women who never have children enjoy the equal time of three months a year in free time!

According to the Bible Jesse had seven sons: Eliab, Abinadab, Shimeah, Nethanel, Raddai, Ozem and David. The Bible also says that David had two sisters, Zeruiah and Abigail. However, they are never called daughters of Jesse, but daughters of Nahash. This has lead to speculation as to whether they were daughters of David’s mother from an earlier marriage with one certain Nahash. On the other hand, some believe that Nahash could be another name for Jesse, or the name of David’s mother.

If you recall the story of when Samuel came to Jesse’s house to anoint one of his sons to be king he went through seven of them and the Lord did not want them. Jesse said he had one more son and he was out tending sheep. It seems to me that David was a neglected son and Jesse did not spend much time with him so some one had to raise him and I believe it was his mother. His mother raised him in the right way for the Bible says that he became a man after God’s heart. I want to review David’s life to see what qualities he had instilled within him because of his mother. We could say that he was a poet but also a warrior, he was a champion but also an outlaw, he was a builder but also an administrator, he was very kind to people but also a murderer, he spoke the truth but he also lied and he was shepherd but also a king. In the Bible there are some 62 chapters written about his life. Some believe he also attended the school that Samuel taught. We know that he was selected by God. 1 Samuel 13:14 “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already chosen him to be king over his people."16:1 “Now fill your horn with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my new king." God gave David his heredity, temperament and environment from his mother that fit him to become the man that God knew would be a good king. It was when David was 16 that Samuel showed up at Jesse’s house to anoint him as a king. It would not be for about 13 years later that he would become king. After he was anointed he went back to caring for sheep. David made good use of that time like learning how to play the harp that brought him to the palace to meet king Saul. He also learned how to use his sling which helped him to slay a giant that everyone feared. You might be thinking that you are just leading a common life without much going on. God takes us from normal life to what He desires. Every day we should live as though we are going to be used by God because we are and there need to be doing the best that we know how to do. When Saul needed music to sooth his mind it was David out in his field that was called to play for him. His practicing with a sling every day made him stand with boldness in the face of a nine foot giant. How are you preparing each day to be used by God?

After David was anointed king and when he joined Saul’s army he was rejected because he was doing a good job in battle. “Saul has slain his thousands, but David has slain his ten thousands.” David had learned early in life what rejection was as his brothers did not like him. David spent many years being hunted down and therefore had a lonely life. That is why many of the Psalms that we read relate to what our lives are like.