The Shepherd King

Oil on linen, 40" x 50"

David dwells on his past as his fingers wrap around the sling from his youth. Some old pelts from his shepherding days lay draped on the wall. The sword of Goliath, boasting the Philistine god Dagon on the pommel, rests securely strapped to the belt of Jonathan. His lyre, having miraculously survived several spear throws, leans against the wall. The scroll of an unfinished psalm waits patiently on the floor. And off in the distance, David envisions a resting place for the Lord. The plant of palms is prophetic for the coming of Jesus, a nod to David’s insight about the coming Messiah. Directly behind David is the Kidron Valley, where Israel would eventually bury their kings. The Kidron Valley rises up into the Mount of Olives, where Jesus would be arrested, and taken to the temple for his trial. The white cloth wrapping around him represents his understanding of salvation and the purifying heart of God. As he dwells on how the Lord has established him and delivered him from his enemies, he begins to envision a dwelling place for the Lord. As I made this painting, I listened to David’s story in the Bible. I admire him for seeing things through God's perspective. When everyone else was afraid of Goliath, David simply saw him as an enemy of the Lord. David also recognized King Saul as the Lord's anointed and refused to harm him, even though Saul sought his life. Another outstanding trait is David's seemingly foolish mercy & trusting nature, even for his enemies like Abner and Absalom. As David was "a man after God's own heart," he encountered the merciful character of God. And we know that David himself received great mercy from God. When David stayed home from war, he looked out from this very palace and found Bathsheba bathing on the roof. He committed adultery with her, and David ordered the murder of her husband (one of his mighty men) Uriah the Hittite, to cover up the affair. At the height of our victory, even then sin seeks to entangle and destroy. David repented of these things and his heartfelt -- and sometimes anguished -- Psalms are a blessing to us today. This painting was commissioned by Beverly Tyson.

The Lord's Covenant with David

2 Samuel 7:1 - 17 ESV

Now when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.” But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.