David’s Last Words
Second Samuel 23: 1-7
David’s last words DIG: Which of his idealized terms in verses 1-4 apply to David? Which of these images are more fully realized in David’s greater descendant Jesus, the ideal theocratic Ruler to come? In these last words, how does David underscore the divine inspiration of all his recorded words? How does David know all is firm, or right, within his house? How do the ungodly compare with him? How would you summarize David’s legacy?
REFLECT: What qualities do you look for in a leader? What happens if a leader lacks integrity and a true fear of YHVH? The fact of divine inspiration begs the question – how? How does God’s Word translate into human words? Who inspires you? Can ADONAI speak to you this week? How is that like or unlike divine inspiration to people in the Bible or to the human authors of Scripture?
970 BC
These are the last words of David, summarizing his final literary legacy to Isra’el (Second Samuel 23:1a). This oracle of David indicates that he was speaking as a prophet, and uttering a Divine word. This is expressly stated in verses 2-3ab. The theme is the rule of the righteous king, and the LORD’s covenant with David.553
A David speaks in the third person about himself: David describes himself not in terms of human achievement, but in relation to his God, who caused him to become king. The oracle of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob to be king over all Isra’el. ADONAI spent thirty years training David, first with the sheep in the fields, then with Sha’ul in the Israelite army, and finally with his own fighting men in the Judean wilderness. Great leaders are trained in private before they go to work in public. But the Ruach not only empowered David for battle, He also inspired him to write beautiful psalms that still minister to our hearts. When you think of all the trials David had to endure in order to give us these psalms, it makes you appreciate them even more. He was Isra’el’s singer of songs (Second Samuel 23:1b-e). Of the 150 Psalms in the scroll of Psalms, 73 were said to be written by David. However, David made it clear that he was writing the Word of God, not just religious poetry.554
B David speaks in the first person: As the Spirit of God came upon Balaam and enabled him to utter the words of God (Numbers 24:2), so also the Spirit of ADONAI spoke through me (First Samuel 16:12-13), His word was on my tongue, meaning verbal inspiration. That David spoke by the Ruach on another occasion is affirmed by Jesus Himself (Matthew 22:43). The God of Isra’el spoke to him, and David would repeat nothing but what the Rock of Isra’el’s people had declared (Second Samuel 23:2-3ab). David wants us to understand unmistakably that what he announces is not his guess but God’s actual words, not a piece of human insight, but a morsel of Divine decree. And if it’s YHVH’s word, then it is a sure word and can be depended upon.
How welcome this note of certainty should be for God’s people. One could not look at the highs and lows of history and come to the conclusion that a righteous Ruler over mankind is coming to reign. Our world seems to be plunging to chaos rather than rising to civilization, wallowing in oppression rather than finding justice. And many of ADONAI’s own people walk through their personal lives riddled with uncertainties, wondering how their apparently senseless circumstances can find a slice of Divine wisdom. We could never infer Kingdom hope from personal experience. David, however, tells us it is a matter of Divine revelation. Therefore, in one sense, the kingdom of God is here now. Yeshua said: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). But in another sense, the messianic Kingdom has not come yet. In other words, the Kingdom is now, but not yet. It is not a political proposal but a Divine certainty. God’s people in this world seldom have certainty in their circumstances, but we do have certainty in God’s Kingdom.555
C ADONAI speaks: A ruler over people must be righteous (Hebrew: tzaddik), ruling in the fear of God and under Divine authority. Such a ruler is to be compared with three wonderful experiences common to everyone everywhere. A good ruler must be like the morning light at sunrise on a cloudless day that makes the grass on the earth sparkle after a rain (Second Samuel 23:3cd-4 CJB). All three elements are necessary for healthy growth of plants, without which all would die. And for society the righteous ruler has an equally vital part to play: May he rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth, says the psalmist, and may he live forever (Psalm 72:8 and 15). Lasting peace and security, as well as conservation of natural resources, depend on long-term justice and mercy exercised by godly leaders. They find their resources in God and in His Son, who indeed reign forever (Revelation 11:15).556 By placing the Divine description of the righteous king in the middle of the poem, David’s last words give ADONAI the central – and therefore final – word.557
B David speaks in the first person: David, meditating on the Divine word, see it in the light of Nathan’s prophecy. For my house (family, throne and dynasty) stands firm with God. This house had been made secure because of an everlasting, unconditional covenant with me (to see link click Ct – The LORD’s Covenant with David). Because this unconditional covenant depends on the Word of God, it cannot fail. The LORD had made similar unconditional covenants with Noah (Genesis 9:16); Abraham (Genesis 15:9-21); Phinehas (Numbers 25:13), and would make a new unconditional Covenant with Isra’el (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It follows that, since David sought to align his will with God’s will, all his desires would bear good spiritual fruit (Second Samuel 23:5). After rejoicing in the fact that every detail of the LORD’s covenant with him was secure, David expressed his belief that his salvation was also secure (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ms – The Eternal Security of the Believer).
A David speaks in the third person about the ungodly: Not everyone, however, wants the Kingdom to come. Some want no part of a righteous Ruler’s reign. These are the ungodly of every age. If the messianic King is light, they are like thorn bushes to be pushed aside, every one of them. He brings life, they bring death. They cannot be taken in one’s hand – they are untouchable; to touch them one needs to use a pitchfork or the shaft of a spear, and then only to burn them where they lie (Second Samuel 23:6-7). The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of this Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42). This teaching is not very popular today. Universalism is not true; everyone isn’t going to heaven. There are only two families on this earth, the family of God and the family of Satan. The Bible is not ambiguous about this. Listen to David. Listen to Jesus. They convey the same message; the godless will stand condemned. Even at the end of the B’rit Chadashah, Yochanan refuses to budge on this point. The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 21:8). This is the second death (see the commentary on Revelation Fp – The Lake of Fire is the Second Death).
Thus David’s last words come to an end.
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