In this daily Bible reading is a continuation of Israel’s genealogy and the account of King Saul’s defeat by the Philistines on Mt. Gilboa. King Saul and his sons were killed, and David became King of Judah. Seven years later David became king of all of Israel, and Israel became one nation.
It occurred to me this morning that the first king of Israel, Saul, was from the tribe of Benjamin. David was from the tribe of Judah. The Bible says that David’s lineage will last forever in the person of Jesus Christ who will become our King.
Judah became a nation separate from the other tribes of Israel, and the lineage of King David was preserved in Judah. The other tribes became known as Israel and their kings came from various lineages. None was preserved.
I believe that God’s selection of Judah to be the tribe into which Jesus was born was due in large part to David’s faithfulness to God and his zeal for God. David never departed from being loyal to God as the other king’s did, especially the kings of Israel.
However, David was not perfect, as none of us are. He committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. God punished David greatly for this, and David repented. God never abandoned David, though.
Indeed, God will punish His followers for their sins. However, He will forgive them when they repent, truly repent, and turn from their sins. The Bible says that God will not abandon believers but will chastise them as a father would chastise his own children. And so He does.
