Jan 16, 2022. II Samuel 23:1-7

Posted byJohn Sanzone

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DAVID SUMS UP HIS CALLING. II Samuel 23:1-7. 1/16/2022. #54

1 Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: 2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me:

‘He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. 4 And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,

By clear shining after rain.’ 5 “Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire;

Will He not make it increase? 6 But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands. 7 But the man who touches them Must be [a]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.”

  1. David the anointed
    1. The author records the last words of David
      1.  Apparently, these were part of the instructions David gave to Solomon on his deathbed
      1.  David lays out the type of man who rules well in the sight of God
    1. The author identifies David as “the anointed”
      1.  God had “raised David up on high”
      1.  David’s elevation was not due to his skills, efforts, or merit
      1.  David’s rise was due to God’s sovereign will according to God’s providence
  2. The characteristics of a godly ruler
    1. David instructs Solomon as to the qualities needed for a just and effective ruler
      1.  David states that his words are from the Holy Spirit, who spoke through him
      1.  David at times was righteous and effective, but he was not consistent
    1. David first acknowledges God as The Rock of Israel
      1.  God is the one who determines right and proper
      1.  David agrees that he needed to submit to God
    1. 2 qualities of a great leader: being just and fearing God
    1. Just = righteous, correct
      1.  Judging honestly and truthfully before the Lord
      1.  Justice requires impartiality and fairness
      1.  Personal feelings, prejudice, and ineffective investigation work against justice
    1. Fear of the Lord
      1.  Is. 55 God sees all and brings all to account
      1.  Eph. 6:5 by ruling humbly in awe of the Lord, evil deeds are avoided
      1.  David lost the fear of the Lord during the Bathsheba/Uriah travesty
    1. David states that a righteous ruler is like the morning light and tender grass (refreshing and pure)
  3. The Davidic Covenant
    1. David acknowledges that “his house is not so with God” (David had failed at many points)
      1.  David failed in the Bathsheba/Uriah scandal
      1.  David failed with Ammon and Absalom
      1.  David failed by numbering the people
    1. Only God’s unconditional covenant with him allowed him to continue and prosper as king
      1.  God promised David deliverance and increase
      1.  God chastised David, but didn’t abandon him
    1. We often do not live up the ideal
      1.  David did confess and repent
      1.  Like Solomon, had David kept his own words ever in mind, he could have lived up to ideal
  4. Judgment of the wicked
    1. David then turns to the wicked
      1.  They are like thorns (hurt and do evil)
      1.  They can’t be treated gently or be reasoned with (taken by hands)
      1.  David advises that the wicked must be dealt with by armed force (armor + spear)
    1. Eccl. 8:11 when the wicked are allowed to roam free without justice, they destroy all in their pathway
      1.  2 Tm. 3 end times lawlessness is a product of wicked people controlling justice departments
      1.  Wicked men must be treated decisively

The end of the wicked is to burn with fire (Revelation 20)