2 Samuel 23:1-4 To Be With God!

 ”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: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. 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. 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.’“ ‭‭II Samuel‬ ‭23‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. These are the last words of David: It wasn’t that these were the words David spoke from his deathbed, but they expressed his heart and longing at the end of his life.

i. “I suppose the last poetical composition is here intended. He might have spoken many words after these in prose, but none in verse.” (Clarke)

ii. This short psalm is a beautiful song of wisdom from David at the end of his life. “Wherein he doth, in few words but full of matter, acknowledge God’s benefits, confess his sins, profess his faith, comfort himself in the covenant, and [announce] destruction to unbelievers…. How much in a little!” (Trapp)

iii. What a life his was – we have a capsule of David’s life in the titles and descriptions of 2 Samuel 23:1:

· The son of Jesse: Jesse was a humble farmer and this title reminds us of David’s humble beginning.

· The man raised up on high: David allowed God to raise him up, so that he could confidently rest in this title.

· The anointed of the God of Jacob: David was anointed by God, not by himself or merely by man. He had a unique empowering and enabling from God.

· The sweet psalmist of Israel: David had a beautiful gift of eloquence and expression before God. This title reminds us of David’s deep inner life with God.

b. The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me: This indicates that at least at times, David was aware of the work of divine inspiration through him and expressed in his words.

c. He who rules over men must be just: As David looked back over his life and reign, he was struck by the great need for rulers to exercise justice. He knew this because he had seen the goodness of justice provided and the curse of justice denied.

d. Ruling in the fear of God: This is the key to justice in the work of a leader. When leaders rule in the fear of God they recognize that a God of justice reviews their work and will require an accounting of how the ruler has led.

e. He shall be like the light of the morning: David reflected on how a wise ruler is blessed when he rules with justice. Though David’s reign was not perfect it was blessed – and his reign is the one most identified with the reign of the Messiah.

i. From one perspective David’s reign was a disaster. He suffered from a dark scandal during his reign, he suffered under repeated family crises, under an attempted insurrection from his own son, under another civil war, and from three years of famine.

ii. In contrast to David, his son Solomon’s reign seemed perfect. Solomon enjoyed a reign of peace, great prosperity, prominence, and glory.

iii. Yet the Bible has nothing but praise for David and his reign, reflected in passages like Psalm 89:20, Isaiah 55:3-4, Romans 1:3, and Revelation 22:16. In contrast, Solomon is barely mentioned in the rest of the Scriptures and when he is, it is almost in a backhanded way (see Matthew 6:28-29 and Matthew 12:42).

iv. The difference between David and Solomon was found in their different relationships with God. David’s passion in life was simply to be with God (Psalm 84:10), while Solomon’s passion was personal improvement (1 Kings 3:4-15). We can also say that David endured to the end, loving and serving God in the final chapters of his life (2 Samuel 23:1-7), while Solomon forsook God in his later years (1 Kings 11:4-8).

(Guzik)

To Be With God!

This was David’s passion with loving and serving God in the final chapters of his life!

Oh how I long to be like David in my final chapters!

Do you?

Blessings