Bleeding Boundaries - David: A man adfter God's Own Heart

As we examine this story and many others like it, many of the concepts and principles covered in this story come into play. Keep your eyes open for them as you wonder, how did David get through.

1. His response to the contrite

2. Whom he loves he chastens

3. He will not always chide

4. He gives time to repent

5. Delayed justice and forbearance

6. Not sparing the guilty

When David meets Bathsheba in 2 Sam. 12, he was on his eight wife, acquired in one of the most disgraceful ways. By his own words to Nathan, the man who did this thing should surely die. A part from the sexual immorality that he committed he had also committed murder against the woman's husband.

God began a series of manouvres beginning with the visit of Nathan the prophet who pronounced a series of curses on David including that of the death of the child that came out of the encounter. In this narrative God, mercy and and forbearance is clearly seen.

Let's untangle some of God's dealings. So we decribe God as one whose "gifts and calling are without repentance". We see him forgiving the vilest offender. We talked about the power of God's calling as we navigate our way through cultures and customs, yet we find Saul whom seemed to have been called of God being rejected. How do we reconcile that with "calling without repentance"?

The phrase “the gifts and calling of God are without repentance” comes from Romans 11:29, and it’s Paul’s way of affirming that God’s covenantal promises to Israel remain intact, even when they stumble. The Greek word ametamelētos means irrevocable—not subject to divine regret or reversal.

But then we look at Saul, anointed by God, chosen as Israel’s first king, and later rejected. God even says, “I regret that I have made Saul king” (1 Samuel 15:11). So how do we reconcile this?

🧠 Theological Tension: Calling vs. Choosing

Here’s the key distinction some scholars make:

Concept Definition Saul’s Case

Calling Divine invitation Called to kingship

to purpose Anointed and empowered

Choosing Divine affirmation of Later unchosen

alignment with Due to disobedience

covenant

Saul’s calling wasn’t revoked—he was still king until death. But his favor and covenantal alignment were withdrawn. He operated in the role, but without the relational backing of God’s pleasure.

Covenantality in Action

Saul’s failure wasn’t just moral—it was covenantal rupture. He broke the relational fabric that held his calling in place. God didn’t revoke the calling—He repositioned the covenant. David was raised not just as a better leader, but as a man after God’s heart—a covenantal successor.

Progressive Revelation

Romans 11:29 is spoken in the context of Israel’s national destiny, not individual behavior. It’s about God’s long-term faithfulness, not short-term favor. Saul’s story reminds us that calling without covenant is like a throne without a foundation—it may stand for a while, but it cannot endure.

So yes, God forgives the vilest offender. Yes, His gifts are irrevocable. But favor flows through fidelity, and calling must be clothed in covenantality. Saul teaches us that position without posture leads to spiritual exile.

More than that, was how Saul responded to the chastening (a la Witch of Endore) compared to David's response (a la Psalm 51).

David vs Saul

Saul and David weren’t just two kings—they were two responses to chastening, two theological case studies in how the soul handles divine disruption.

Saul at Endor: Desperation Without Repentance

Saul, facing silence from heaven, bypasses God and seeks a medium—violating his own edict and Torah law (1 Samuel 28:3–7).
His words to Samuel drip with fear, not contrition: “God has departed from me… so I have called on you to tell me what to do” (v.15).
There’s no confession, no brokenness—just strategic panic. He wants answers, not intimacy. He’s still trying to manage outcomes, not mend relationship.
He decides to take his future into his own hands
His final act is eating a meal prepared by the medium—a tragic anti-communion, sealing his spiritual exile.

David

David in Psalm 51: Brokenness That Births Restoration

David, confronted by Nathan, doesn’t deflect—he collapses inward: “Against You, You only, have I sinned…” (Psalm 51:4).
He doesn’t seek loopholes—he seeks cleansing: “Create in me a clean heart… renew a right spirit…” (v.10).
His repentance is relational: he longs not just for forgiveness, but for restored presence—“Do not cast me from Your presence…” (v.11).
And he ends with a vow to teach others—redemption becomes ministry.

Covenantality Threaded

Saul’s response is transactional—he wants prophetic intel. David’s is transformational—he wants a new heart. Saul consults the dead; David communes with the Living God. One seeks control, the other surrenders.