David’s Last Words
February 4, 2020
Commentary
The list of David’s mighty men is preceded by a short poem (vv. 1-7) titled the last words of David. In the first stanza (v. 1) he identified himself as “the son of Jesse,” a peasant farmer in Bethlehem. David was never ashamed of that, as God lifted him “up on high” and placed him with the great men of the world, the man “anointed by the God of Jacob.” He is the same God who saved me and the same God who hopefully saved you.
His consciousness of being God’s instrument is clear from the second stanza (vv. 2-4), in which he acknowledged that God had spoken to him and through him (v. 2). The Spirit came upon David, and that is the way men wrote the Old Testament. Peter tells us that is the way men wrote the Old Testament (II Peter 1:20-21). The “rule over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God” (v. 3). It is obvious that the decisions made in our government today, regardless of the party, are not made in the fear of God.” He is a king who rules as an agent of God, and it says he is like the brilliance of the sun on a cloudless morning and like a clear day after rain (v. 4).
In the third stanza (vv. 5-7) David centered on the Davidic Covenant, by which God chose and blessed him. God had made an everlasting commitment with him and his dynasty (my house), a covenant that guaranteed his ultimate well-being (IISam. 7:8-16). In contrast, evil men, like so many thorns, will be cast aside to be consumed by the judgment of God (Matt. 13:30, 41). What David seems to be saying is simply this: “My house is not worthy of this. We did not receive this by merit. It did not come because of who I am.”
Application
I should never make my decisions based on the fear of what men may say or what they may do. My decisions in life need to be based on the fear (assume respect) for God. This ia not a trembling type of fear.
2 Samuel 23:1– 7 (NET)
1 These are the final words of David: “The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man raised up as the ruler chosen by the God of Jacob, Israel’s beloved singer of songs:
2 The Lord’s Spirit spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel spoke, the Protector of Israel spoke to me. The one who rules fairly among men, the one who rules in the fear of God,
4 is like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning in which there are no clouds. He is like the brightness after rain that produces grass from the earth.
5 My dynasty is approved by God, for he has made a perpetual covenant with me, arranged in all its particulars and secured. He always delivers me, and brings all I desire to fruition.
6 But evil people are like thorns— all of them are tossed away, for they cannot be held in the hand.
7 The one who touches them must use an iron instrument or the wooden shaft of a spear. They are completely burned up right where they lie!”