A THEOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THE CONFLICTING CHARACTER OF DAVID: REFLECTIONS ON 2 SAMUEL7:1-29 AND 11:1-27

Abstract

David, the son of Jesse and king of Israel is one of the prominent characters in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian community. His character has influenced Christians in many parts of the world across generations. In spite of his influence, the book of 2 Samuel presents two contradictory images of King David. While on one hand David is presented as a man after God’s own heart, on the other hand he is shown to be engaged in serious social misdeeds such as immorality and murder. This study aimed at making a theological evaluation of the character of King David. The study was exegetical in design and it employed a narrative criticism approach focusing on 2 Samuel 7:1-29 as the unit of analysis. Among other things, the study revealed that those whom God has elected are human beings who can fall into sin and suffer God’s punishment but when they repent they are forgiven.