Day 170 – 2 Samuel 23:1-7
Scripture Review
2 Samuel 23:1-7
The Last Words of David
"Now these be the last words of David. David the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said,"
(2 Samuel 23:1)
The verse first calls him "David the son of Jesse." Before he was a king, warrior, or psalmist, he was Jesse's son, the overlooked shepherd from Bethlehem. David never outgrew the truth of his humble beginning. Then he is called "the man who was raised up on high." David did not raise himself. God lifted him from the sheepfold, preserved him through Saul's hatred, and established him upon the throne. His elevation was the work of divine grace.
He is also called "the anointed of the God of Jacob." Meaning he had been chosen, set apart, and equipped by God for the office of king.
Finally, David is called "the sweet psalmist of Israel." Sweet speaks of the pleasant, beautiful, comforting, and worshipful nature of David's psalms. David fought battles with a sword, but he also strengthened generations with songs. God's revelation of David's life at the end is a perfect picture of grace. His sins were real, but they were not the only truth about his life. He was also a man raised by grace, chosen by God, and used to give Israel words of worship.
"The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue."
(2 Samuel 23:2)
David reveals the source of his words. He says, "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me." He was the human speaker, but the Holy Spirit was the divine source. God worked through David's personality, experience, language, and musical ability, yet the message came from the LORD.
"The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God."
(2 Samuel 23:3)
Human rulers change, kingdoms rise and fall, but the Rock of Israel remains. God gives David a clear standard for leadership: "He that ruleth over men must be just." Authority is not permission to do whatever a leader desires. The ruler is accountable to God for how he treats people. His decisions must be governed by justice rather than pride, favoritism, revenge, or personal gain. The ruler must also govern "in the fear of God." A leader who does not fear God will eventually misuse power because he begins to think no authority stands above him. David had lived long enough to know both sides of this truth. He had seen Saul rule through jealousy and fear. He himself had ruled justly at times and failed seriously at others. His last words acknowledge that the throne belongs under God.
"And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain."
(2 Samuel 23:4)
This is the true blessing of leadership painted in two beautiful pictures. First, the just ruler is like "the light of the morning, when the sun riseth." After a dark night, sunrise brings warmth, visibility, hope, and a new day. A leader should not leave people stumbling in confusion. His rule should bring clarity and hope. David adds, "even a morning without clouds." A cloudless morning is bright and unhindered. It pictures leadership free from the dark clouds of corruption, oppression, and uncertainty.
Then he compares the ruler to "tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain." Tender grass is fresh growth. Rain has watered the ground, and then sunlight causes life to spring forth. That is what godly leadership should do. It should not crush everything beneath it. It should create conditions in which people can grow, flourish, and live securely.
David did not perfectly fulfill this picture. Solomon would not fulfill it completely. No ordinary king could. It points toward the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous Son of David, whose rule brings true light, life, and peace.
"Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow."
(2 Samuel 23:5)
This had to be a hard sentence for him to write. David says, "Although my house be not so with God." His house had not looked like the cloudless morning he had just described. His family had known sin, violence, betrayal, immorality, murder, and rebellion. David could not look at his household and claim that everything had been right. At the end of his life, he knows that his family has fallen far short of God's plan.
Then the second best word in the Bible appears on the page "yet."
"Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant." This covenant goes back to 2 Samuel 7, where God promised to establish David's house, kingdom, and throne. The covenant is "everlasting," reaching beyond David's lifetime. It is "ordered in all things," meaning God has arranged and established every necessary part of it. It is "sure," meaning guarded, reliable, secure, and certain. David says, "this is all my salvation, and all my desire." Near the end of his life, David's deepest hope is not his military record, wealth, throne, or reputation. His salvation and desire are wrapped up in what God has promised.
"But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:"
(2 Samuel 23:6)
Here we see a different ruler. He contrasts the just ruler with the wicked. The "sons of Belial" are worthless, rebellious, ungodly, and lawless men. They refuse God's order and resist righteous authority. David compares them to "thorns thrust away." Thorns do not produce useful fruit. They choke good growth, wound those who touch them, and make land difficult to cultivate. Thorns are dangerous to handle carelessly. In the same way, stubborn wickedness cannot always be corrected by gentle contact alone. Rebellion that refuses every warning eventually meets judgment.
Under the perfect King, that which gives life will flourish, and that which destroys will not remain forever. This is a clear picture of what will happen in Revelations.
"But the man that shall touch them must be fenced with iron and the staff of a spear; and they shall be utterly burned with fire in the same place."
(2 Samuel 23:7)
The man who handles the thorns must be "fenced with iron." Here, fenced means armed, protected, or equipped. He needs an iron tool and the wooden staff of a spear so he can gather the thorns without being wounded by them. Then the thorns are "utterly burned with fire." Utterly means completely. The image is one of final removal and judgment.