The Apprentice (king)

Last week I met the sixteen-year old apprentice to one of our best known local firms. His name is Harry. He left school on the Tuesday, started work on the Wednesday and seemed to be thriving on it.

Tonight I watched Lord Sugar fire another of his luckless would be apprentices-cum-business partners, but just before that we had the last of four talks on the life of David, one of the boldest apprenticeship projects in the history of the world.

The youngest son from an obscure family from an out of the way place that no one had ever heard of called Bethlehem was God's surprising choice to be his new apprentice king.

He was an apprentice king because he had a lot to learn.

Almost his first day in the job he faced the terrifying prospect of fighting his nation's greatest enemy, the mighty Goliath.

The lad from Bethlehem was the surprising winner and he went on to do great things for his nation and his God, as well as behaving in the most disgraceful way imaginable when he started to get a bit carried away with himself.

Sex, lies, deceit and murder were David's undoing and it took the bold and clever preaching of God's prophet to bring the king back to his senses.

David showed the kind of man he was by pouring out his heart in an extraordinary song of repentance and rededication which we know as Psalm 51.

But here's the wonderful thing: he was never fired.

God called him, used him, brought him back to himself when he strayed, and made the most amazing promise to him: his kingdom and his dynasty would never end.

How come? Another boy from Bethlehem, centuries later, born of David's line, came to the throne by way of a manger, a cross and a tomb. From heaven he said:' I am descended from the family of David; I am the bright morning star' Revelation 22.16

David's story is a story of grace: the undeserved freely given love of God. 

In the world of TV reality shows someone always gets fired, sent home, or publically humiliated. 

God's ways are different. When he calls someone, he commits himself to them for all eternity.

David was an apprentice king, and if we follow Jesus, we get to be his apprentices (or, to use a more biblical word, disciples), forever.

You're never fired. You're just loved and that's the wonder of it.