Today my devotional was in 1 Kings 15. By itself this chapter isn’t what I would call “exciting” or “ground breaking”. It’s is part of a developing pattern in the book as the author lays out the progression of kings that rule over Judah and Israel after King Solomon’s death (the nation of Israel is divided as a result of King Solomon’s disobedience). And the story is pretty much the same: a new king comes, he blows it by doing things his way versus God’s way, God punishes him (usually with a death sentence).

But chapter 15 is different for two reasons. First, it talks about King Asa (Judah) and how “Asa did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight” (11). There was something new and different. King Asa even had the guts to depose his grandmother from her royal position because she had built and Asherah pole to worship.

But the big difference comes from the following verses:

But for David’s sake, the Lord his God allowed his descendants to continue ruling, shining like a lamp, and he gave Abijam a son to rule after him in Jerusalem. For David had done what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight and had obeyed the Lord’s commands throughout his life, except in the affair concerning Uriah the Hittite. (1 Kings 15:4-5)

King David had done it right…and it was still paying dividends. He had been dead for a long time by this point and God was still honoring him. Was David perfect? By no means…he had committed adultery and murder. What was the difference between King David and the other kings who blew it? Two things I see (that should be a lesson for us today):

1. He was repentant (few of the kings in this book were…they were stubborn and determined to doing things their way)
2. He never abandoned God (most of the kings in 1 Kings abandoned God and began worshiping idols)

David was a “man after God’s own heart”. That’s my prayer today as well…God make me into that man!