When I began studying David, one question that intrigued me was what it meant that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22). When I asked people what they thought this phrase meant, I heard differing opinions. Some were even bothered by the fact that such a sinful person was described this way. So what does it mean?

Two main answers emerge. The phrase could primarily say something about God, meaning David is selected according to God’s heart and choice. The second option views this statement as primarily revealing something about David’s heart that seeks after God or reflects God. Both are good options. Let me list the support for each and then share how I read it.

Option 1: The Man of God’s Choosing

A key aspect of interpreting Scripture is reading it in context (cultural context, literary context, and historical context). David’s rise, and the use of this famous phrase, take place in the context of Saul’s reign and failures.

Before Saul, Israel was ruled by judges rather than kings. It wasn’t until 1 Samuel 8 that Israel demanded an earthly king like everyone else. After Samuel warned them against it, they protested: “No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Sam. 8:19-20; cf. 8:5). Israel acted under their (wrong) assumption that they were missing out or that God was withholding something good from them by having God as their king rather than a man as king.

Israel moved from this false belief about what God wasn’t doing to the lie that a human king would be an upgrade. Their faulty theology led to their failure to trust God and their trust in an earthly as their idol.[1] The throne of a human heart only has room for one person. Either God will sit there or some other idol (god) takes His place, but there isn’t room for two.

This led to Saul, a man recognized for his physical features rather than his spiritual virtues. “There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (1 Sam. 9:2; 10:23). Israel wants a powerful, impressive king. Saul is a tall and towering figure among the undersized Hebrews. He was a bit like Gandalf among the hobbits, or like a kid playing youth basketball who hit his growth spurt well before everyone else. 

This context helps us understand how Saul was a king reflecting the desires of the people. “And now behold the king whom you have chosen, for whom you have asked; behold, the Lord has set a king over you” (1 Sam. 12:13). Israel chose Saul, both in the kind of king demanded and in the sense that they chose him over God as king. Even though God chose Saul as Israel’s king (1 Sam. 10:24), it reflected that Saul was the king the people desired based on their priorities (1 Sam. 12:13).

Despite his military successes, Saul failed to lead Israel well. He proved to be a fearful, foolish, and sinful king (1 Sam. 13-15). Because Saul rejected God’s commands, God rejected Saul as king (1 Sam. 15:23, 26). 1 Samuel contrasts Saul and David in many ways (see “10 Contrasts Between Saul and David”). But Saul didn’t seek God first, trust God in temptation, or obey God. He feared people more than he feared God. The people’s king, with their priorities and prerogatives, ultimately failed them.

That’s why God told Saul the kingdom would be given to another. God’s chosen king would be better, or more fit for ruling than Saul (15:28). Samuel relayed God’s message:

“You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” (1 Sam. 16:13-14)

This new prince was the man of God’s own choosing. Israel got who what they wanted the first time around and it blew up in their face. This time God would pick a king who would lead them well. This new king would not be defined by his external stature but his internal character, not his height but his heart (16:7). 

When you read about David being “a man after God’s own heart” in the context of Saul’s story of failed kingship, it makes sense why many think this phrase tells us more about God (and His choice) than about David (and his passion or godliness). John Woodhouse writes,

“The expression ‘a man after [God’s] own heart’ has entered Christian jargon, usually as a statement about the qualities of the person. In 1 Samuel 13:13, however, the expression is literally, ‘The Lord has sought for himself a man according to his own heart.…’ This is about the place this man had in God’s heart rather than about the place God had in the man’s heart. It was a way of saying that God had chosen this man according to his own will and purpose…

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