Leadership Lessons from David

In his study of David, Chuck Swindoll points out that God scans the world seeking potential leaders. Thankfully, God is not looking for perfect people since there is no one who is perfect on this earth. Rather, God is seeking ordinary people to carry out an extraordinary task. He is looking for people with certain qualities. God is seeking leaders who have the qualities of spirituality, devoted hearts, and humility. God takes David from the foothills surrounding Bethlehem to place him on the throne of Israel (Swindoll, Chuck, 1997).

God raised David up to be a leader of his people. David ascended to the throne when he was thirty years old. His reign lasted for forty years total. As David is studied, it is obvious that he was a leader after God’s own heart that placed his faith in God even in the midst of difficult times. David was human and he erred but his humility allowed him to subject himself to God’s judgment. This humility was deeply rooted in David’s spirituality and the depth of that spirituality which is evidenced in his Psalms (Lockyer, Herbert, 1961).

In temperament, David exhibited the qualities of the San-Mel temperament. This is a combination of Sanguine and Melancholy. David was well liked by men and women. He was very artistic as shown by his Psalms and the accounts of his artistic activities. This temperament has the tendency to develop a close, intimate walk with God. David demonstrated this quality in the descriptions given in Scriptures of his walk with God. As written by Luke in Acts 13:21-22, David was a man after God’s own heart (Personal Temperament Test: Profile, 2008).

David is the biblical example of a growing leader. A growing leader is one who is not satisfied to attain a high level of competence then stops trying to improve. The growing leader is one who is constantly seeking personal growth. David gained fame with his defeat of Goliath and gained in position in the army becoming a leader of soldier’s in Saul’s army. Events beyond his control forced David to become the leader of a group of soldiers which became his private army as he sought refuge from Saul (Towns, Elmer, 2007). Growth requires change. Growth as a leader increases one’s effectiveness as a leader. According to Mawell’s Law of the Lid, an organization can only rise to the level of its leadership. If a person has a strong leadership quality then the organization will have a high lid. The effectiveness of an organization and individuals is based on the strength of leadership (Mawell, John, 1998/2007). A leader must seek personal growth and improve leadership abilities to be more effective. A study of David’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats provide a rich enviroment to study leadership.

David’s Strengths

According to Towns, a growing leader is not dependent on any one spiritual but rather the leader identifies her gifts then fully develops those gifts. David was qualified to be a leader because he had developed an intimate relationship with God. According to 1 Samuel 16:7, the other sons of Jesse were from outward appearances quite acceptable for leadership. However, this was the error that the nation had made in selecting Saul for their king. They selected Saul for king because they felt he looked like a leader. Man looks upon the physical appearance but cannot know the heart as it is written in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (KJV) The answer quite simply is God. Samuel was looking upon the countenance of the candidates when God looked upon David’s heart which had been honed in the solitude of the wilderness looking after sheep. It was in this solitude that David developed an intimate relationship with God. David describes this relationship in Psalm 42:1 in which he describes himself to be like a thirsty deer seeking water when it came to him seeking God.

One of the first opportunities for David’s growth as a leader is mentioned in the Bible was when he had the opportunity to serve Saul in his palace. In this context, God had placed David in a situation where he could observe a leader who refused to grow. Saul was a failed leader and David had the opportunity to learn from Saul’s negative leadership model. David saw Saul’s refusal to yield completely to God. This refusal resulted in Saul being troubled by an evil spirit that could only be alleviated by David’s music. Later, David would see the damage that Saul’s wounded pride would do as Saul grew more jealous of David’s successes.  The time David spent with Saul was a leadership laboratory in which David learned what not to do to be a good leader (Towns, Elmer, 2007).

David seized opportunities and showed a willingness to serve in his battle and victory over Goliath. He showed willingness which Saul did not possess. This victory was the beginning of David’s military successes. Each success garnered David a great reputation among the people and increased his influence. David worked to increase his influence further by strengthening his relationship with his followers. As David had to seek the safety of the wilderness to escape Saul, David was forced to grow as a leader by learning to relate to a different types of followers. As his leadership skills grew, so did the size of his following. The experience in the wilderness led to David’s growth as leader in that he learned to grow in spite of his circumstances. As the war with Saul continued, David waxed stronger as Saul’s strength waned (Towns, Elmer, 2007).  David learned that a prolonged conflict would not benefit a leader. As Sun Tzu noted:

When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men’s weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be damped. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain (Moore, Marc, 2004, p. 22).

David observed the destructive effects of a prolonged civil war. For this reason, David learned the leadership skill of reaching out to others. He welcomed those who were outside of his realm of influence into his group. This is seen with his response to the deaths of Abner and Ishbosheth. He took steps to build trust among those who had opposed him. He made overtures to them to bring peace to the nation. This had the beneficial effect for David of expanding his kingdom to include Israel (Towns, Elmer, 2007). This was not a rapid result but a patient progression which took seven and a half years. David had grown as a leader to be patient. He grew in his personal relationship with God to wait upon the Lord.

David’s Weaknesses

One of David’s temperaments greatest weaknesses is in the area of thought life (Personal Temperament Test: Profile, 2008). This can be seen in the situation with Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11. David’s sin was not in see her bathing but choosing to keep his eyes there.  This showed a weakness in his thought life. This weakness would have disastrous effects on the rest of his life.

David made mistakes which negatively impacted his credibility among his followers. His handling of his family affairs is an example of a growing leader making mistakes. When Amon raped his half-sister, Tamar, David mishandled the situation which led to Absalom killing Amon and rebelling against David. This would have further disastrous results as Absalom damaged David’s credibility among the people by sleeping his concubines on the palace roof. Finally, Absalom is killed. These deaths would lead to a succession crisis at David’s death as both likely heirs were dead. A leader’s mistakes can have long ranging effects that cannot be foreseen.

David’s Opportunities

In 2 Samuel 3, Abner came to David to negotiate. According to the Bible, Abner had been supporting Saul’s remaining heir Ishbosheth. Ishbosheth insulted Abner over the issue of Abner having married one of Saul’s former concubines and Abner decided to reach out to David. As a growing leader, David had seen the effects of a prolonged civil war of draining Saul’s strength and leading to his shameful defeat. David made overtures to Abner and asked for the return of his wife Micah so that he could restore his family and claim to the throne to Israel. This demonstrates the growing leader’s willingness to make overtures to his enemies (Towns, Elmer, 2007).

After Abner’s death, Baanah and Recab murdered Ishbosheth in an attempt to gain favor with David. They bring his head to David in hopes of a reward. However, David executed them. David used this opportunity to reach out to Ishbosheth’s followers. A growing leader seeks ways to reach out to those who are not in his sphere of influence (Towns, Elmer, 2007). David insured Ishbosheth had a proper burial. This increased David’s influence greatly. This had a beneficial effect because soon there afterwards the elders of Israel came unto David and recognized him as king of all of Israel.

Threat

Saul was the greatest threat to David. Saul saw David’s growing popularity and viewed him as a threat. First Samuel 18:6-7 tells of the women singing David’s praises which showed his growing popularity among the people. Saul would view David as an enemy and seek to kill him. This quest by Saul forced David to flee to the wilderness for safety. David dealt with this threat by growing in his personal and leadership relationships. Yet, in spite of Saul’s desire to kill him, David’s close relationship with God would not allow him to strike Saul when an opportunity presented itself. In First Samuel 26, David and his men were hiding in a cave when Saul sought the solitude of a cave to relieve himself. With his enemy in his grasp, David could have easily killed Saul. David’s men were encouraging David to kill Saul saying that it must be the will of God. David demonstrated his great influence over his men by restraining them from causing Saul any harm. Only a leader with an intimate relationship with God could discern God’s will in these situations so that He may be glorified. David exhibited great discipline in not striking. Later, Saul would die at the hands of the Philistines and not David’s hand.

Conclusion

God raised David up to be a leader of his people. David was human and not perfect. He made mistakes but his humility allowed him to subject himself to God’s judgment. This humility was deeply rooted in David’s relationship with God and the depth of that relationship which is shown in his Psalms (Lockyer, Herbert, 1961).

As Towns shows, David is the biblical example of a growing leader. According to Towns, a growing leader is one who is not satisfied with just attaining a high level of competence but continues to seek ways and area where he can improve (Towns, Elmer, 2007). Growth requires change. Growth as a leader increases one’s effectiveness as a leader. According to Mawell’s Law of the Lid, an organization can only rise to the level of its leadership. If a person has a strong leadership quality then the organization will have a high lid. The effectiveness of an organization and individuals is based on the strength of leadership (Mawell, John, 1998/2007). Since David developed his leadership skills, he was able to unite the nation of Israel and take it to great victories. A study of David’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will provide a profitable experience in the study of leadership.

Reference

Lockyer, Herbert. (1961). All the Kings and Queens of The Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.

Mawell, John C. (2007). The Twenty-one Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Tenth Anniversary ed.). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. (Original work published 1998)

Moore, Marc A. (2004). The Art of War. Birmingham, AL: Sweet Water Press.

Personal Temperament Test: Profile. (2008). The 12 Blends of Temperaments from the book “Why You Act The Way You Do” by Tim LaHaye. Retrieved 7 November 2008 from http://www.goingthedistance.org/pages.asp?pageid=18155

Swindoll, Chuck. (1997). A Man of Passion and Destiny: David. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, Inc.

Towns, Elmer L. (2007). Biblical Models for Leadership. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.