Introduction
The Scriptures tell us the story of two men in the midst of a battle:
One man’s priority was the ark of the covenant and the reputation of his Lord.
The other man’s priority should have been the battle, but he became preoccupied with a bathing woman.
One man, when offered a night alone with his wife away from the battlefront, slept instead at the door of the king’s house with the servants.
The other man slept with another man’s wife while his own men were dying in battle.
One man was faithful only to his commander in every situation.
The other man stole the first man’s wife only because she was beautiful, he wanted her, and he felt that he had the right to have her.
One man was obedient to the point of death because of a desire to please his master.
The other man had the first man killed in order to cover his own sin.
In the deep mysteries of the mercies of God, one of these men became a man after God’s own heart.
David: shepherd, servant, sovereign, sinner—and a man after God’s own heart. In Psalm 12, David cried:
Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man. (Psalm 12:1)
We, too, might cry out with David, “Where are the men and women of God? Where are those who come before the Lord with faithful hearts, whose lives are characterized by obedience and commitment? Where do we find men and women who will endure in their pursuit of righteousness?”
In his visually descriptive call to a life of faith, the writer to the Hebrews talked of Abraham and Sarah, of Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab the harlot. With him, we give thanks to God for the “heroes of the faith.”
And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. (Hebrews 11:32-34)
Is God still raising up men and women like these to glorify His name? The angels who are watching and the witnesses throughout all history answer with a resounding yes! From Chester Bitterman, who refused to yield to the terrorists in Colombia to Jim Eliot and his young friends, who gave their lives on the banks of the Curaray River in Ecuador, and their wives, who yielded up their husbands for Christ and His Kingdom, to Watchman Nee in China, and John Hus and William Tyndale, God has kept chosen men and women for Himself. We see these godly people not only in the pages of Scripture or in our history books but also in our elders and our deacons, in our youth leaders and our Sunday school teachers. They are witnessing in their shops and proclaiming the Person of God in their offices. God is still creating people who have a heart like His, who are strong in His Spirit and full of faith.
As we study the Scriptures God has set before us here, we will see a clear picture of the man or woman who flees from the mind-set of this world and pursues God with a whole heart. We will look at God’s description of a righteous person and at how the character qualities of His own heart come alive within us. We will understand more clearly what it means to walk by faith and to love one another the way God loved us in the giving of His Son. We will be encouraged to keep walking with God when it hurts so much to endure, and we will be confronted with our world’s images of strength and God’s call to gentleness.
Our vision will be increased for the spiritual battles we fight daily against the forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. We will be motivated to take hold of the things of God and affirm them within our own hearts. We will see in a new way the life in which God is glorified.
If within your heart resides a hunger to be a man or woman of God, it is our prayer that this study of the Scriptures might be an encouragement to you, a small part of God’s eternal process of building into you His own heart. May the Lord bless you and fulfill in your life all of His will, in order that you, too, might be a testimony before His angels and before the world.
The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
Psalm 19:9-10