Summary: David left a legacy behind him of both devotion to God and failure. As he leaves a legacy of corruption and generational disobedience for his sons in 1 Kings, he simultaneously praises the Lord and sacrifices all the resources and wealth he has left to the building of a permanent temple for God. Although the tension in David’s life is not always easy to accept, we have to see the honesty of Scripture as it is, acknowledge both his sins and his devotion to God, and recognize that we have the same story as David. His problem is not a “them” problem, it’s a “we” problem—we are no better than him. Where our core sins play out over time, God’s grace extends all the more.
