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King David is not only a historical figure documented throughout the Bible, but his presence on earth demonstrates the accuracy of the biblical texts.[1] One thousand years before Jesus entered our world, David had written hundreds of Psalms in worship to Yahweh, and in prediction of Messiah’s arrival. David stands today as one of the greatest prophets and leaders the world has ever known.

David was a man who was flawed as all men are, but what set David apart from others was his intense and sincere love of God. David committed many grievous sins, including adultery and murder. We find these failures recorded in the texts of 2 Samuel, chapter 11.[2] At a time when kings would go out to battle in the spring, David was at home in his palace. From his rooftop he saw Bathsheba bathing, and the rest is history.

In Psalms 51, we find the sincere sorrow and repentance of David who came to a moment of truth that his actions were wrong. David came to the Lord whom he knew was merciful, and confessed his sins that took place with Bathsheba and her husband Uriah:

Psalms 51:1-4 “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—That You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.”

Psalms 51 becomes for us, a model of sincerity when we sin, and what we should do with our failures as we come before the Lord. David does not blame others or God for his sin; he blames himself. David owns his sins, but brings them to the one place where he is certain they can be dealt with properly: the Lord of heaven and earth.

David knows that God is just and must punish all sin, for He said this throughout His word. David also knows that God is extremely merciful and He will forgive a truly repentant sinner.

The problem in David’s failure, and a reminder to us in our own sins, is the certainty that God will forgive us, but there will still be consequences for our actions. David’s firstborn son dies not long after birth and in this loss David feels the reality of what happens when we fail to do what God has instructed. The laws of God were not give to us so that we might be deprived of life and the enjoyment of our days. The law of God is for our own good, so that we might enjoy a full and satisfying life while we are here on earth.

What impressed God about David, was his sincere love and dedication to God. Every man, every woman—fails and sins during their life. It is what we do after we sin that matters. David had a intense love for God that always brought him to the Lord in his joy, in his sorrow, and in his failures. David came to the Lord when he sinned because he knew that only in the Lord could he find comfort in his very being, for the guilt that sin and failures had caused.

It is interesting that the text of 2 Samuel where David’s grievous sins are recorded, this book is the human view of David and his failure. When we arrive at the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, these books are the view of events from heaven’s perspective:

• In 1 and 2 Chronicles we find David and his son, Solomon, in their reign as king. As 2 Samuel and 1 Kings describe the their righteousness and their sins equally, Chronicles makes not mention of David’s sins.
• Chronicles does not describe the wars that took place between Saul and David, or the murders of Abner and Ishbosheth in 2 Samuel 1–4. Chronicles is the view of David from heaven, from the perspective of God, who does not remember the sins of those who come to Him in sincerity and repentance for their sins.
• Chronicles, and therefore, God, make no mention of David’s sins against Bathsheba and Uriah, in 2 Samuel.

When you and I arrive in heaven, neither God or anyone else, will mention our former sins. This is because in Christ, our sins died when He died on the cross and they do not exist any longer

This heart after God that David had, impressed the Lord. God was not focussed on David’s former failures, but on his sincere heart of sorrow over his sins, ownership of his sins, and sincere desire to never sin against God again. This all came from the heart of love and respect that David had for God.

In one instance the Lord spoke of David as, “a man after my own heart.”[3] This singular love and respect that David had for the Lord, allowed him to be a prophet of God, and write several important prophecies about the coming Messiah. David was told that from his house and lineage, Messiah would come. When we investigate the texts of the New Testament we find that David is in Jesus’ genealogy, documented as his descendant.

After Jesus had risen from the dead He met two of His disciples on the road that leads from Jerusalem to Emmaus. In this meeting Jesus told these men that all of the prophecies written for the Messiah, came from Moses in the Law, David in the Psalms, and “all the prophets,” of the Old Testament.

Luke 24:44-45  “Then Jesus said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me.”

There are 400 of these Messianic Prophecies that Jesus fulfilled in the pages of the New Testament

The historical reliability of the Old Testament has been tested and proven reliable by several preeminent Archaeologists and scholars

Robert D. Wilson, Ph.D—was an American linguist and Biblical Scholar, who was fluent in 45 ancient languages and dialects and had memorized the entire Old Testament in Hebrew. Dr. Wilson was able to recite, from memory, every word of the Hebrew scriptures without missing a syllable.[4]

Dr. Wilson demonstrated that the secular accounts of 29 ancient kings from 10 different nations were inaccurate. At the same time, he also firmly established that the names of these kings, as they are recorded in the Old Testament scriptures, matched the artifacts of Archeology empirically.[5]

Today those who have criticized the Bible for being inaccurate have eaten their own words. The secular record has been proven inaccurate by discoveries of modern archeology, while the Biblical descriptions of archeological artifacts have been proven true.[6]

Previous claims that certain references in the Bible such as the depiction of King David, Pontius Pilate, and the ancient Hittites—once claimed by critics of the Old Testament as myths—have been proven by archeological discoveries to be absolutely accurate.

Professor Wilson said:

“I have come to the conviction that no man knows enough to attack the veracity of the Old Testament. Every time when anyone has been able to get together enough documentary ‘proofs’ to undertake an investigation, the biblical facts in the original text have victoriously met the test.”[7]

Today no credible scholar disputes the accuracy of Biblical accounts of ancient cities, cultures, or people. They are beyond dispute and without impeachment.

Nelson Glueck is considered one of the world’s greatest archeologists. His work in the discovery of over 1,500 ancient sites led him to the firm conclusion that every reference in the Old Testament scriptures, that refers to an ancient city, civilization, or people, were entirely accurate in every regard.

In the words of Dr. Nelson Glueck:

“It may be stated categorically that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a single biblical reference. Scores of archeological findings have been made which confirm in clear outline or in exact detail historical statements in the Bible.”[8]

The evidence presented to us by the archeological record of ancient history demands a conclusion that the Bible is perfect in all its descriptions of the historical events it reports. Dr. Wilson describes the record of Biblical precision—which accurately describes names, cities, and events of history—as a marvel unequalled by any other literature of antiquity.

“That the Hebrew writers should have transliterated these names with such accuracy and conformity to philological principles is a wonderful proof of their thorough care and scholarship and of their access to the original sources. That the names should have been transmitted to us through so many copyings and so many centuries in so complete a state of preservation is a phenomenon unequaled in the history of literature.”[9]

Those who purport to be “experts” or scholarly authorities regarding the inaccuracies allegedly found in the Bible should go back to school, and learn the important study of Paleography and the ancient languages in which the Bible was written.[10]

“Before a man has the right to speak about the history, the language, and the paleography of the Old Testament, the Christian church has the right to demand that such a man should establish his ability to do so.”  —R.D. Wilson

The Historical Reliability Of Psalms 16

One of the attributes of the Bible that sets it apart from all other secular and religious works of antiquity are its predictive and fulfilled prophecies. Among the thousands of prophecies of the Bible, the Messianic Prophecies are singular in their importance. The entire Bible is written as a revelation of God, and the prophecies written for the Messiah, bring us the most stunning of all predictive texts.

Of the Messianic Prophecies, Psalms 16 is one of many in which we can verify as documented in both the Old and New Testaments.

Psalms 16:9-10 “Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.”

Critics of God and the Bible often assert that Psalms 16 was not written for Jesus, the Messiah, but David was speaking of himself. The problem with this conclusion is that the writers of the New Testament, state that Psalms 16 was written specifically for Jesus:

Psalms 16 Predicts The Resurrection Of The Messiah From The Dead

Acts 2:14 “Then Peter stepped forward with the eleven other apostles and shouted to the crowd…Acts 2:22-36 “People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus the Nazarene by doing powerful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know. But God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip.

King David said this about him: ‘I see that the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and my tongue shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. (Psalms 16:10:) For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’

Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. 30 But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave.

Peter Continues:

“God raised Jesus from the dead, and we are all witnesses of this. Now he is exalted to the place of highest honor in heaven, at God’s right hand. And the Father, as he had promised, gave him the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us, just as you see and hear today. For David himself never ascended into heaven, yet he said,

(Psalms 110) ‘The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit in the place of honor at my right hand
until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.”’ “So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Messiah!”

We Find These Facts Repeated By Hebrew Scholar, Paul

Acts 13:16 “So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me…Acts 13:26-39  “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

“When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead! And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

“And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus: ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.’

Paul Cites Psalms 16:

“For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’ Another psalm (16) explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’ This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do.”

Psalms 16 and It’s Fulfillment recorded by Peter and Paul in the Book of Acts, validates the Old Testament Prediction of Jesus’ Resurrection

Finding both the Old Testament prediction of a resurrected Messiah, written by David, 1,000 years before Jesus was born—and the fulfillment of this prophecy recorded by two EYEWITNESSES, Paul )1 Cor. 9:1), and Peter, in the book of Acts, proves that Jesus rose according to the historical record.

• Historical Evidence That Proves The Resurrection Of Jesus
• The Promise Of Resurrection: Ten Prophecies Of Messiah Rising From The Dead
• 203 Eyewitness Statements About Jesus In The New Testament
• When Were The Gospels Written?
• 400 Messianic Prophecies Documented In History

NOTES:

[1] Source: Biblical Archeology: Direct citation; “The Tel Dan inscription, or “House of David” inscription, was discovered in 1993 at the site of Tel Dan in northern Israel in an excavation directed by Israeli archaeologist Avraham Biran.

The broken and fragmentary inscription commemorates the victory of an Aramean king over his two southern neighbors: the “king of Israel” and the “king of the House of David.” In the carefully incised text written in neat Aramaic characters, the Aramean king boasts that he, under the divine guidance of the god Hadad, vanquished several thousand Israelite and Judahite horsemen and charioteers before personally dispatching both of his royal opponents. Unfortunately, the recovered fragments of the “House of David” inscription do not preserve the names of the specific kings involved in this brutal encounter, but most scholars believe the stela recounts a campaign of Hazael of Damascus in which he defeated both Jehoram of Israel and Ahaziah of Judah.” (https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-artifacts/the-tel-dan-inscription-the-first-historical-evidence-of-the-king-david-bible-story/)

[2] 2 Samuel 11:1-5 It happened in the spring of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the people of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 Then it happened one evening that David arose from his bed and walked on the roof of the king’s house. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing, and the woman was very beautiful to behold. 3 So David sent and inquired about the woman. And someone said, “Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 Then David sent messengers, and took her; and she came to him, and he lay with her, for she was cleansed from her impurity; and she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived; so she sent and told David, and said, “I am with child.”

2 Samuel 11:14-17 In the morning it happened that David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 And he wrote in the letter, saying, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and retreat from him, that he may be struck down and die.” 16 So it was, while Joab besieged the city, that he assigned Uriah to a place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 Then the men of the city came out and fought with Joab. And some of the people of the servants of David fell; and Uriah the Hittite died also.

[3] 1 Samuel 13:14 “The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart…” Psalms 89:19-21 “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, with whom My hand shall be established; also My arm shall strengthen him.” Acts 13:21-22 “And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’

[4] 1. This includes all the Biblical and cognate languages, i.e., Hebrew, Aramaic, the Sumerian/Babylonian dialects, Phoenician, Assyrian, Ethiopic, the various Egyptian and Persian dialects.

2. Nelson Glueck: Biblical Archaeologist and President of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Jonathan M. Brown, Laurence Kutler, Hebrew Union College Press, 2006.

[5] “A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament,” by R. D. Wilson, “Is Higher Criticism Scholarly,” and “Which Bible,” by David Otis Fuller, who studied under Dr. Wilson at Princeton Theological Seminary.

[6] An interesting discovery in 1910 by Sir William Ramsay, debunked the secular record of Cicero of the Romans who described Iconium as being in Lycaonia. Luke describes Lystra and Derbe as being in Lycaonia. Acts 14:6 they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.

[7] Quoted in R. Pache, The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture.

[8] Nelson Glueck, Rivers in the Desert, 1960, page 31.

[9] “A Scientific Investigation of the Old Testament,” by R. D. Wilson.

[10] Paleography is the study of ancient writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts.

Categories: Empirical Evidence for the Resurrection, Eyewitnesses, Forgiveness of Sin, How Salvation Occurs, How The NT Writers Remembered, Jesus born to die, Jesus is God, Messianic Prophecies, New Testament Criticism, Prophecy, Religion vs. Relationship, Robert Clifton Robinson, Salvation is a free gift, Salvation through Jesus, The Resurrection, The Resurrection of Jesus, We must repent, What happens after death?, Why Jesus had to die

Tags: 400 Messianic Prophecies, Evidence the Resurrection of Jesus is genuine, Eyewitness Testimony, Jesus Resurrection a historical fact, Psalms 16:10