3. David: A Type of Christ.

1. Both Were Shepherds.

David was a shepherd before being anointed as King. 1 Samuel 16:11. “And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” Then he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here.” “He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob, His people, and Israel His inheritance.” (Ps 78:70-71). “I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them—My servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd.” (Ezekiel 34:23). “David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments, observe My statutes, and do them.” David himself wrote in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” John 10:11 and 14 tell us that Jesus is the good Shepherd. “He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those with young.” (Isaiah 40:11).

2. Both Were Kings.

David was the king of Israel. 2 Samuel 5:3. “Therefore, all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord. And they anointed David king over Israel.” “Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” (1 Sam 16:1b). “He is the tower of salvation to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore.” (2 Sam 22:51). Jesus Christ is the king of kings. Rev 19:16. “And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” Also, we see this in Psalm 2:6, “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.”

3. Had The Holy Spirit.

Both men had God the Holy Spirit with them. 1 Samuel 16:13, “Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” Luke 3:22. “And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You, I am well pleased.”

4. Anointed of God.

“Now, these are the last words of David. Thus says David, the son of Jesse; thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel.” (2 Samuel 23:1). “He is the tower of salvation to His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore.” (2 Sam 22:51). Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one and said: “I have given help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people. I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil, I have anointed him.” Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38).

5. Many Enemies

Both men had many enemies. Psalm 3:1, “Lord, how they have increased who trouble me! Many are they who rise up against me.”John 19:6. “Therefore, when the chief priests and officers saw Him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “You take Him and crucify Him, for I find no fault in Him.”

6. Conqueror

Both men defeated their enemies. Psalm 18:37, “I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them; neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed.” 1 Corinthians 15:25. “For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.”

7. Betrayal

A close friend betrayed both men. Psalm 41:9, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, Who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.” John 18:5. “They answered Him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’ Jesus said to them, “I am He.” And Judas, who betrayed Him, also stood with them.”

8. Beloved of God.

Both men were beloved by God. David’s name in Hebrew means beloved. God proclaimed his love for Jesus Christ during his baptism. Matthew 3:16-17. When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly, a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

9. God delighted In Both.

“He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.” (2 Sam 22:20). David was a man after God’s own heart. (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). God delights in Jesus. Isaiah 42;1, “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!”

10. Both Pursued by Leaders.

Saul pursued David to kill him. 1 Samuel 19:9-11. “Now, the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing music with his hand. Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he slipped away from Saul’s presence and drove the spear into the wall. So, David fled and escaped that night. Saul also sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. And Michal, David’s wife, told him, saying, “If you do not save your life tonight, you will be killed tomorrow.” Mark 3:6. “Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

11. Consecrated Bread.

David ate consecrated bread. 1 Samuel 21:6. “So the priest gave him holy bread; for there was no bread there but the showbread which had been taken from before the Lord, to put hot bread in its place on the day when it was taken away.” But Jesus consecrated the bread in the last supper with his disciples. Luke 22:19, “And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”   See also 1 Corinthians 11:24-29, Matthew 26:26-29, 1 Corinthians 10:17, John 6:53-54

12. Kings of the Judah.

Before being the king of Israel, David was anointed as King over the house of Judah. 2 Samuel 2:4. “Then the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah.” Jesus is the King of Judah. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.” (Gen 49:10-12; KJV). Revelation 5:5 says, “And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.”  

13. After Betray, Friend Hanged Himself.

Ahithophel was David’s counsel and close friend (1 Chr 27:33). When David’s son Absalom conspired to overthrow David, Ahithophel sided with Absalom. There is a reason why Ahithophel wanted to kill David, but will is a story for another day. Later, however, Ahithophel hanged himself. (2 Samuel 17:23).
After Judas betrayed Jesus Christ, he hanged himself (Matt 27:5).

14. Throne Forever.

God has promised David’s offspring will establish a throne and kingdom that will last forever. (2 Samuel 7:11-16). Jesus is David’s offspring, Who will have a throne and kingdom that lasts forever (Rev 22:3-16). If you study 2 Samuel 7:11-16, you will see God speaking to David about Solomon and at the same time talking to him about Jesus.

15. Deliverance Ministers.

David cast out a demon from King Saul by playing the harp. 1 Samuel 16:23. “And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.”

Jesus Christ was an expert in casting demons (Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-17).

16. Delivered God’s. People.

David delivered Israel of the fear of their enemies. 1 Samuel 17:48-52. “So it was when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone, and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So, David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling, and a stone struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore, David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” Jesus is our Deliverer. For He delivers us from the enemy.” The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2). “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” (Romans 16:20). He is also the Destroyer of the works of the devil. “For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8).

17. Ministry Began at 30.

David was 30 when he became king over Israel. 2 Samuel 5:4. “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.” Jesus was 30 years old he began his ministry. Luke 3:23, “Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, the son of Heli.”

18. Born In Bethlehem.

Both men are born in Bethlehem. “Now Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David.” (Luke 2:4) Bethlehem is another name for the city of David. We can also see this in 1 Samuel 17:15, “But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.” Jesus was born in the city of David. “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11).“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod, the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem.” (Matt 2:1).

19. Both Were meek and lowly.

“So Saul’s servants spoke those words in the hearing of David. And David said, “Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king’s son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?” (1 Sam 18:23). Concerning the Messiah, it was prophesied of Him in Ezekiel 17:24 “And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the Lord, have brought down the high tree and exalted the low tree, dried up the green tree and made the dry tree flourish; I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it.” Matthew 11:28 tells us Jesus is meek and lowly.

20. Men Did Not Desire Both Due To Their Appearance.

Even the prophet Samuel did not deem him handsome, tall and good looking to be a king. “So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or his physical stature because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:6-7). “And when the Philistine looked around and saw David, he scorned and despised him, for he was but an adolescent, with a healthy reddish colour and a fair face. (1 Sam 17:42; AMPC). Concerning Jesus, it was written of Him, “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of the dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.” (Isaiah 53:2).

21. Sacrifices Offered, Then Exalted.

“And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.” “Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” (Acts 2:36).

22. Chosen of God.

So Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all the young men here?” (1 Sam 16:8-10). The Lord did not choose anyone till we got to David, and many other Scriptures affirm that God chose David. “However, the Lord God of Israel chose me above all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever, for He has chosen Judah to be the ruler. And of the house of Judah, the house of my father, and among the sons of my father, He was pleased with me to make me king over all Israel.” (1 Chro 28:4). “I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to My servant David.” (Ps 89:3). God chose Jesus. “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.” (Is 42:1). Isaiah 49:7 is a prophecy of the Messiah. “Thus says the Lord, The Redeemer of Israel, their Holy One, to Him whom man despises, to Him whom the nation abhors, to the Servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel; and He has chosen You.” 

23. Both Were Very Wise.

• Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war. And so it was, whenever they went out, that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul so that his name became highly esteemed. (1 Sam 18:30).
• And David behaved wisely in all his ways, and the Lord was with him. (1 Sam 18:14).
• So David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely. (1 Sam 18:5).
• Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skilful in playing, a mighty man of valour, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” (1 Sam 16:18).

Jesus is very wise.

• “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” (Isaiah 11:2–3).
• “Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.” (Is 52:13).
• “For unto us a Child is born, unto us, a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Is 9:6).
• Jesus is the Wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16).

David typifies our Lord in so many ways. As mentioned in other types, what I write is not exhaustive. We must continue studying and learning more about Jesus from the volume of books written about Him.