These accounts reveal that the values of people in David’s day were much different than our values. Might made right in that day, and as victor, David did whatever he wanted to the peoples he defeated with God’s help. He took their land and their riches, or he occupied their land while allowing them to remain and exacted tribute from them, basically making them his slaves – just as any other king of his day would do. We can’t judge him by the standards of our day; he was behaving rightly according to the standards of his day.
He was obviously not perfect, however, as demonstrated in his treatment of the Moabites. Power corrupted even this hero of our faith. In this way He highlights God’s perfection and man’s need for a Savior.
The man after God’s own heart administered justice and equity to all his people. Think about what that reveals about what we can hope for in Heaven. He was also more than faithful to his promise to his dead friend. When man behaves in a way that reflects the character of God, he is handsome, don’t you think?