In Revelations 3:7b John writes this message to the church of Philadelphia “He who is holy who is true who has the keys of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens say this”. (KJV) Before I go any farther I need to let the readers understand that I believe that God opens and closes doors daily in the life of the believer. I have witnessed that in my life as well as others close to me. Yes we must go through the open doors, but when God closes a door it stays closed. As we study David’s life we need to understand how God directed his paths. God as the potter and David as the clay. The events that lead up to making David king of Israel were are planned by God. So let start the process of looking at the doors that the Lord opened up for David, as well as some doors that were closed to him.

David’s family had a very rich and interesting background. In Matthew 1:5,6 “And Salmon beget Boaz of Rahab; and Boaz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse; and Jesse begat David the king” (KJV) we have David’s genealogy. David’s genealogy is found in several other places in the Bible, but this one is special since it also list his grandmother and his great grandmother. Both of these women were great women of faith, and yet the ways they came into the lives of Salmon and Boaz was amazing. The door of opportunity was opened for Rahab when the two spies for Israel stayed at her house in Jericho. This account recorded in Judges 2:1-24 gives us a full account of her faith. She could had turned the spies over to the king of Jericho, but instead protected them. She did this because she believed in their Lord, and asked for kindness to be shown to her family. As we see God rewarded her faith by becoming one of the five women in the genealogy of Christ.

The same can be said about his grandmother Ruth who could have been alive at the time of David’s birth. The story of her faith and her decision to chose to travel with her mother-in-law Naomi back to Judah is recorded in the book of Ruth. As we read the story of how Ruth meet Boaz we can see how God opens doors of opportunities to those who have faith in the Lord . As we study the Bible God has given us books such as Ruth, Esther, and Job to show to us how God works in an individual life and reward that individual for their great faith in God.

David had a rich history of men and women of faith in his family. As we read the Psalms, we realize that David’s faith in God was something he acquired at an early age. So as the door opens for David’s journey into the courts of king Saul we must reflect on how God set the stage early in his life by giving him such a rich heritage of faithful parents, and grandparents. The faith that Rahab and Ruth were great examples of faith in which David must have heard and possibly even seen early in to his life. So as we look to these great individuals that God has given us as example of faith; we as parents and grandparents should strive to be good examples of faith to our children and grandchildren. This is the greatest gift in life we could give them, so we must strive so that we can be a faithful witness to them.