An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel on Decision-Making and Power M. Jake Aguas Regent University This expository essay considers the story of King David and juxtaposes critical elements of his life with the praxis of organizational behavior and design. It uses the study of decision-making and types of power to evaluate the life of King David in 1 and 2 Samuel. The essay also highlights the effectiveness of David’s decision-making acumen. David’s experiences will be layered with French and Raven’s bases of power to uncover the imbrications thereof and provide modern-day leaders with a stronger decision-making foundation and improve their effectiveness as they navigate through the wild waters of organizational challenges. The First Book of Samuel recounts the story of King Saul’s extraordinary rise to power and influence and his subsequent tragic fall. The author highlights Saul’s tragic flaw— his disobedience of God’s commands which ultimately leads to God’s rejection. In the process, Saul quickly loses his courage and becomes jealous of young David’s growing success. From the ashes of tragedy, God would raise up another king who would obey the directives of the true King, the God of Israel. Much of the activity in First Samuel is associated with the life, reign, and decline of Saul, contrasted with the rapid rise of the young and faithful David. Although the Book of Ruth 4:18-22 introduces the genealogy of David, First and Second Samuel report the specifics of David’s rise to power, as well as reveal the successes and failures of his decision-making acumen. What is King David’s story? What elements of organizational behavior are present in the Books of Samuel? What learnings can we take away from the decisions David made, both good and bad? How might those learnings help leaders and decision-makers better understand the complexities of power as they make decisions in a modern-day organizational environment? Highlights of the Story of David The Books of Samuel form part of the narrative history of Israel in the Nevi’im or “prophets” section of the Old Testament called the Deuteronomistic history (Gordon, An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel on Decision-Making and Power Page | 30 1999). Along with Joshua, Judges, and Kings, the Books of Samuel are part of the series of books that comprise a theological history of the Israelites that explain God's law for Israel under the guidance of the prophets (Dick, 2004). First Samuel follows David’s rise and journey to the throne, justifying him as a legitimate successor to Saul. First and Second Samuel allow readers to witness God entering into an eternal covenant with David while promising divine protection of the dynasty of Jerusalem through all time. David is introduced as a young shepherd who gained fame as a musician and by killing the Philistine champion, Goliath. He quickly became a favorite of King Saul and a close friend of Jonathan, Saul’s son. Worried that David would attempt to steal his throne, Saul would eventually turn on David with a vengeance. After Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle, David is anointed as king and goes on to conquer Jerusalem, taking the Ark of the Covenant into the city, and establishing the kingdom founded by Saul. As a man after God’s own heart, David’s faith was exemplary, so much so, that centuries later God was pleased to be called “the God of your father David” (2 Kings 20:5; Isaiah 38:5). David contributed to the worship of the Lord by building the temple (2 Chronicles 28:11-29:2) and by authoring numerous psalms (2 Samuel 23:1). Inspired through the Lord’s guidance, Samuel had initially traveled to Bethlehem to interview the sons of Jesse, so that he might set apart one of them for a high dignity in the future history of the Hebrew commonwealth. After rejecting seven of his sons, Jesse was asked to disrupt David from tending sheep. Samuel 16:12-13 described the scenario as follows: Now he was ruddy with bright eyes, and good looking. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:12-13). According to Steel (2011), David was a genius poet and musician singing his own Hebrew melodies and dedicating them to the praise of Jehovah. David played the harp often and “beguiled the loitering day or the weary night, as he watched his flocks” (Steel, p. 1). David was intimately acquainted with the Word of God and set many heroes of faith and biblical events of grace to music. The anointment with olive oil was considered a religious ritual which consecrated him to the kingship. David was now strengthened by God’s Holy Spirit for the work of ruling God’s people, just as Saul had been previously (1 Samuel 10:10). In his distressing situation, Saul requested David’s presence to help calm his sullen nature. David left Bethlehem on a donkey and traveled directly to Saul, where he quickly found favor and became Saul’s armorbearer. Empowered by the Spirit of God, David skillfully played his harp, drove away the distressing spirit, and provided Saul with temporary relief. Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol. 12 Iss. 1, pp. 29-41. © 2019 Regent University School of Business & Leadership ISSN 1930-806X | [email protected] An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel on Decision-Making and Power Page | 31 David’s influence and power quickly grew after triumphing over the 9-foot, 9-inch Philistine, Goliath. The decision David made to place his faith in the Lord combined with the courage he demonstrated in challenging the Philistine “champion” is legendary. In fact, David’s achievements became widely known among the Philistines. David’s successful military campaigns also gained him increased honor and recognition. Despite Saul’s anger and resentment, David continually remained loyal to Saul. Today, the story of David’s victory over the giant is used as inspiration to encourage sports teams, corporate employees, developing leaders, and the next generation, providing hope and strength in challenging situations. Indeed, the Goliath has become a universal metaphor for obstacles in life, both personally and organizationally (Marshall, 2006). David’s power and influence rapidly grew over the Israelites, and he quickly gained the loyal support of Saul’s son, Jonathan. Throughout the Books of Samuel, David and Jonathan consistently appealed to the covenant of their friendship, even though Jonathan was well aware of the ancient custom that a new king would kill the offspring of his predecessor. From a leadership and organizational behavior perspective, the researcher begins to see the numerous forms of power theories weaved within the tapestry of interactions between David and the other characters in Scripture. Elements of organizational behavior could readily be observed in the decision-making process of David and the situations he faced. In First Samuel 19, with the help of his wife, Michal, David decided to escape Saul’s anger. Michal had shown exceptional heroism and a great devotion to David—actions that eventually resulted in a strained relationship with her father, Saul. The psalm of lament (Psalm 59) refers to the story of David’s escape from Saul and is broken into four distinct parts: • a prayer for deliverance • a confident hope • a renewed prayer for deliverance, and • a renewed hope The author uses the repetition of the phrase “deliver me” as a mechanism to emphasize meaning around bringing one out of trouble and distress. David made other significant decisions as well, such as fleeing and seeking help from Samuel at Ramah (1 Samuel 19:18) and not being present at dinner with the king: And David said to Jonathan, “Indeed tomorrow is the New Moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening” (1 Samuel 20:5). Emerging Leadership Journeys, Vol. 12 Iss. 1, pp. 29-41. © 2019 Regent University School of Business & Leadership ISSN 1930-806X | [email protected] An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel on Decision-Making and Power Page | 32 Later, David decided to flee to Gath (1 Samuel 21:10) and then to the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22:1). Even though Saul was focused on killing David, the future King made the choice numerous times to spare Saul’s life out of humility for his own station in life, referential respect for the authority and office of the monarch, and the internal guidance of the Holy Spirit. Eventually, Samuel, Saul, and his three sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua (1 Samuel 31: 2-9) all die, and David begins his reign as king. Other examples of decisions David made in Second Samuel included stripping his first wife Michal back from her new husband Paltiel, son of Laish, sending him home heartbroken. Unsurprisingly, David and Michal’s reunion was far from pleasant, as he was no longer the young a courageous warrior who served her father’s household, but rather a monarch with absolute power. Furthermore, she would now have to compete with six other women for King David’s attention. It is worth noting that Michal’s hatred had festered over the years, and she neither accepted her God-given lot nor trusted God for her future happiness—she had become bitter not only at David but also toward God.