Why did God say David was a man after His own Heart?

It grieves me to say that there are more and more people today that profess to be Christians yet are working towards finding a way to rationalize why they need not obey the Ten Commandments. If only all Christians today had the same feelings as the author of the following verse.

Psalms 19:7-8 “The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the Commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.”

In the verse below, God made a statement that He has never made about any other person in the Bible, i.e. God said David was a man after His own heart. Why did God say this and how would you feel if God made this same statement about yourself as He did about David?

1 Samuel 13:14 “But now your kingdom shall not continue: the LORD has sought him A MAN AFTER HIS OWN HEART, and the LORD has commanded him to be captain over his people, because you have not kept that which the LORD commanded you.”

You could not have a higher praise or recommendation than this. Why do you think God said this about David? This world is in this mess today because Adam and Eve sinned. 1 John 3:4 says that sin is transgression of the law, so we know that the Ten Commandments had to exist from the beginning. You cannot sin if there is no knowledge of the law. This is the purpose of the Ten Commandments. The law points out your sin, which in turn points you towards Christ who is the remedy. If there is no law, then there is no transgression and if there is no transgression, there is no sin and if there is no sin there is no need for a Saviour! We would no longer need to repent of our sin and ask Jesus for forgiveness as there would be no law and hence no sin.

Romans 4:15 “Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.”

Romans 7:7 “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, You shall not covet.”

The Ten Commandments were not officially given until Exodus 20, but we find constant evidence in the Word, of the law existing from the very beginning. In Genesis 26 we find that Abraham certainly knew the Ten Commandments of God and kept them.

Genesis 26:5 “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my Commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”

Jesus also said In Matthew 5:17-18 that He did not come to destroy the law and that not one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law until heaven and earth pass. Not only did Jesus NOT come to destroy the law, He actually magnified it and the following verse foretells Jesus would do this.

Isaiah 42:21 “The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.”

In the remainder of Matthew chapter 5, we see how Jesus well and truly did indeed magnify the law. (See fulfilling definition or Ten Commandments purpose for more detail on this passage on how Jesus magnified the law and the meaning of the word Fulfil used in Matthew 5:17.)

How could the Ten Commandments of God be destroyed when Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the law? Why would Jesus magnify the law and say we now also have to teach it if it was going to be abolished at the cross? Was this magnificent speech by Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 on the law only good for the remainder of His 3.5 year ministry? Why would He even bother? Can you just imagine Jesus giving this impressive speech saying, He is NOT going to DESTROY the law but MAGNIFY it, and then inform us we are to not only KEEP the law but TEACH it also, only to turn around and say, “but don't be concerned because it is only for the next three years and then the law will be destroyed.” How totally absurd! Paul also has nothing but positive things to say about the law and he makes it abundantly clear that the law is here to stay. In the following verses for example Paul says:

Romans 2:13 “For NOT the hearers of the law are just before God, but the DOERS of the law shall be justified.”
Romans 3:31 “Do we then make void the law through faith? GOD FORBID: yes, we establish the law.”
Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 GOD FORBID. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?”
Romans 6:14-15 “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for you are not under the law, but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? GOD FORBID.”
Romans 7:12 “Wherefore the law is HOLY, and the Commandment HOLY, and JUST, and GOOD.”

What strange statements these verses would all be from Paul if the law was nailed to the cross! Imagine calling a law that has ended, Holy, Just and Good. Perhaps Paul made this statement because, “The law is so HOLY that it was full of holes and beyond redemption, and the law is so JUST it just had to go, and the law is so GOOD it was good for the waste basket.” Please forgive my dreadful humour and yet another absurd comment. Remember that the Ten Commandments are a reflection of God's Character and so the Bible also says that God is HOLY, and God is JUST and God is GOOD. Does anyone want to dispose of our awesomely HOLY, and JUST, and GOOD God also? It should be abundantly obvious that the Ten Commandments are Holy and Just and Good as Paul said and perhaps this is why God said that David was a man after His own heart. Observe just some of the things that David said about God's Ten Commandment law in Psalms 119. Is David like many Christians today looking for ways of justifying why he does not need to obey the Ten Commandments? To the contrary, he has nothing but the highest praise for the law of God! Perhaps if we would delight in God saying that we are a person after His own heart, we should start by loving God's Ten Commandment law as David did.