The Bible and Psychology – David’s Oil
The sixth psychological portrait in this series focuses on David.
In the Bible, David is King of Israel, and the composer of a great many of the Psalms. One of the Psalms states: “Pluck the strings skilfully†(Psalm 33). This applies to tapping the keys, to doing what you do for God as well as you can. That is what I am trying to do here.
David’s virtue appears to be his zeal. As a shepherd boy who fought off a lion and a bear, as the challenger of Goliath, as the champion of Saul’s army, as the King of Israel, as the Psalmist – David’s zeal is evident in every situation. What is zeal? It is the opposite of apathetic. It is vigour, life, energy, passion; focus and intensity. It is what real love is all about, too. It is “going all outâ€. God’s word about David in the Bible is that he is “a man after God’s own heartâ€.
The reason I associate David’s zeal with ‘oil’ is that he is anointed by the prophet Samuel with oil as the future king of Israel. He doesn’t become king right away. In fact, he has to prove himself repeatedly, serving under King Saul who was prone to dangerous mood swings. Many times David has to live on the run from King Saul, even though David is loyal. He at one point enlists in the army of his enemies against third parties (not Israel). He feigns madness at one point. His trials were many, but from these we also receive the record of his deeds, his Psalms, and the compelling story of his life. King David was a very intense man, who knew when to be reverent, warlike, patient – and when to repent.
