Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?


1 Chronicles 17: 16-19


16 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 17 And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, Lord God, have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men. 18 “What more can David say to you for honoring your servant? For you know your servant, 19 Lord. For the sake of your servant and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made known all these great promises.

. Today’s title is “Who Am I?”

Have you ever felt jealous of someone? Whom did you feel jealous of most and why? Jealousy is not a good thing or virtue in general. However, I believe that there is some jealousy that can be justified. In 2 Corinthians 11:2, Paul writes, “I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.” Here, Apostle Paul says that he has godly jealousy to bring people to God as a pure and holy bride. I am sure that God honored such godly jealousy of apostle Paul. I am not sure whether my jealousy is so godly. But I feel jealous of David, especially the intimate personal relationship with God and God’s blessings upon him. God chose David even though he was the least in his own family. He protected David from all his enemies. He drew people to him. He exalted David above many nations. God blessed his descendants. He even made him the ancestor of the Messiah. What else can you ask more to God as a man? Why such huge blessings upon David? We don’t know. It is fundamentally “the sovereign grace of God”. But we do know that God does not throw pearls at pigs. When God bestows such great blessings upon David, there must be something in David that made God’s blessings worthy. What can it be? I believe today’s passage reveals some of David’s characters that made him earn God’s favor. First, David had a truly grateful heart. It seems that he never forgets or takes God’s blessings for granted. His psalms are flooded with thanksgiving from small to big things that God has done for him. His heart was always overflowing with gratitude and praises for God. Second, he always kept his humility before God. David didn’t forget who he was and how God raised him up. He never presumed that he was worthy of God’s blessings as such. We can see such a humble and grateful attitude of David through his words in today’s passage. He says, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant.” Finally, David never ceased to interact with God in good times or bad times. If he feels joy, he wanted to share it with God. When he had sorrows and pain, he laid them down before God too. I think that God made us all jealous of David and the special blessings that David enjoyed. Can it be godly jealousy? I think it can if only we are jealously following David’s footsteps of deep gratitude, genuine humility, and living interactions with God too. God never runs out of His blessings for any spiritual descendant of David.