Not That David

(I have a regular commenter here. This is NOT about him. Not that David.)

I don't like most movies offering a presentation of biblical characters. They just normally ... mess it up. But my bride wanted to see the new Angel Studios film, David, so we went. It did indeed ignore a lot of biblical facts, and manufacture others ... the kind of thing that will make audiences come away with the thought that "So, that's how it was" when it wasn't. But ... I was actually pleasantly surprised at the message despite the historical failings.

There were undeniable errors, omissions and leaps. As a shepherd, David took on the lion ... but only defeated him and later freed him ... even though the account says he killed it. Saul threw a spear at David because Saul knew David had been anointed king. Well ... no ... it's not in there. They skipped the part where David beheaded Goliath after hitting him with the rock. Fine. Whatever. But the running theme, indeed, the main message of the movie was that God — not human strength, charisma, or kingship — is the true source of help, guidance, and victory. That God, indeed, is always right in what He does. In one musical part (there was a lot of music, which, I guess, could have been since David wrote so many psalms), David is in distress and on the run, crying out "Why, God?" In a parallel moment, his mother is running with her family for their lives singing, "My God ..." and assuring everyone that the God that David was questioning was reliable in every circumstance, a skillfully woven counterpoint "duet" with a message. God was everywhere in the story, from his anointing to a butterfly picking a stone for David to throw. No ... that's not in the Bible, but the message was "God is in everything." The message was our courage rooted not in self-confidence or arrogance, but in God.

Images can be dangerous in portraying biblical stories. We can substitute the images for the truth of the text. But this movie declared boldly what many Christians miss ... God chooses, guides, and empowers humble people who trust Him, while human strength and human kings inevitably fail. It intentionally fixes our eyes on God rather than Man. Similar to Paul's "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice" (Php 1:18), I suppose I'm glad that in some small way, Christ is proclaimed, whether in pretense or in truth. Am I recommending the movie? No ... just the message.