Faithful Friday: My take on the first episode of “The House of David”

Faithful Friday: My Take On The First Episode Of “The House Of David”

By: Debbie Waltz

In all honesty, I haven’t kept up on Amazon’s new premiere until Dallas Jenkins mentioned his exclusive deal with the franchise to advertise future seasons of the Chosen on its platform. I understand the audience’s concern about how this might change future episodes and the direction of the series.  Given Mr. Jenkins’s statement, I am inclined to trust that he will take the necessary actions to ensure that it does not happen. He is a man of character and strength. With God on his side, He will not allow ANYTHING to happen that is outside of His Will.

While I applaud Amazon MGM Studios and Wonder project for such an undertaking, I can’t help but feel it has fallen flat. Maybe it’s just because I don’t like action-adventure films and am into character-driven movies with some type of emotional and physical transformation. I’m not saying this series doesn’t have the necessary character arc needed, it does. Unlike the relative ease of appreciating “The Chosen,” this series presents a different challenge; viewers must watch every episode to truly appreciate the overall storyline and the nuances of its presentation. To gain a complete and thorough understanding of the context surrounding this series, a basic understanding of biblical context is helpful and, indeed, necessary for a complete understanding. Unlike the Chosen, which uses a broader approach, these storylines zero in on particular parables from the Gospels, stories that most people readily comprehend and are familiar with.

In an effort to incorporate more of the fast-paced sequences, the filmmakers omitted several valuable background sequences, opting instead for a more concise and condensed monologues. The premiere episode offers viewers brief but insightful looks into David’s humble beginnings as a shepherd, highlighting the formative experiences of his youth that significantly shaped his later reign as king. As the story progresses, additional significant figures emerge, each contributing to David’s continued grounding as he navigates the complexities of his personal life alongside his responsibilities as King of Israel. These people included:

• The Prophet Samuel (He also was the first to ordain Saul when Israel cried out for a king)
• Saul. (Though this series is primarily dedicated to David’s reign as king, Saul is instrumental in showing both figuratively and literally the downfall of Israel)
• One of Saul’s sons named Jonathan.  (The two develop an unlikely friendship formed by on the foundation of their faith; Jonathan holds fast to the biblical principles he grew up with and often criticizes his father for going against them.)
• General family dynamics.

By providing audiences with a glimpse into the history of Israel, both during the reign of Saul and in subsequent periods, we gain a profound understanding of how significantly the nation had strayed from its covenant with God. In their ungratefulness, they not only overlooked God’s incredible rescue from the bondage of slavery in Egypt and His leading of their forefathers to their new homeland, the Promised Land, but also traded their divine freedom for the earthly power of a king in a misguided comparison with other lands. When Samuel expressed his disapproval, the Lord reminded him that the Israelites weren’t just going against his advice, but going against God.

1st Samuel 8:6-9 says, “But when they said, ‘Give us a king to lead us,’ this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the Lord. And the Lord told him: ‘Listen to all the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as the king. As I have done from the day I brought them out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. Now listen to them, but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights…” (NIV)

As the first king of Israel, Saul was receptive to divine guidance and willingly sought God’s counsel. As time passed and he accumulated more victories, he unfortunately forgot his humble origins, placing excessive emphasis on his own achievements and losing sight of where he came from. Saul’s triumph over the Amelekites, while a military feat, was marred by his disobedience to God’s commands regarding the appropriate conduct of warfare; specifically, the seizure of plunder and the failure to kill their king indicated a profound lack of obedience.

One dramatic scene shows Samuel chastising King Saul for his failure to follow God. 1 Samuel 15:1-2 says,

‘Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord . This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’ ”

Samuel isn’t pleased. Yet Saul argues: ‘Saul answered, “The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord your God, but we totally destroyed the rest.” ‘(Verse 15)

The prophet Samuel counters with this:

“‘But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” (Verse 22- 23)

In the midst of these events, David is devoting all of his energy and resources to the protection and provision for his family, which involves the considerable responsibility of guarding their terrorized his flocks and his family. One particular example is in 1 Samuel 17: 34- 36 which says: “David said to Saul, ‘Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep the flock, I went after it, attacked it, and rescued the sheep from its mouth. If it attacked me, I would seize it by its beard, strike it, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God.'”

The lion encounter serves as a symbolic foreshadowing of the king’s destiny, hinting at a larger purpose yet to be fulfilled, while also suggesting the immense obstacles that he will inevitably face. While the series doesn’t quite align with my personal preferences, I would still strongly advise giving it a viewing, at the very least a single episode to form your own opinion. The production faithfully follows the storyline and messages presented in the Bible, ensuring accuracy of the biblical text.