The Lord Spoke Through David

2 Samuel 23:1-7

Key verse 2

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue.”

Introduction)

David comes up with his last words at this passage. His words have nothing to do with any negative remarks. Rather he said what God has done. He has a clear identity before God and he never forgets a couple of things: God is the Rock of Israel as well as His everlasting covenant. May the Lord help us to speak the last words like him and continue to encourage our spiritual and physical descendants so that they stand firmly, resist our enemies, and wisely hold God’s covenants.

1. Read verse 1. What does the phrase “These are the last words of David” mean? (1a) How does David introduce himself? (1b) What do you think about what David says here?

1-1) Read verse 1.

These are the last words of David: “The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs:

1-2) What does the phrase “These are the last words of David” mean? (1a)

From this passage, we can see through what he truly values in his life.

1-3) How does David introduce himself? (1b)

“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs:

First of all David pointed out that are inspired words and are God’s revelation because the Spirit led him told him the truth.

First of all he evaluated his life from God’s point of view instead of his own point of view. He could figure out his genealogy according to God’s will.

‘Son of Jesse’ - Jesse was the son of Obed and the grandson of Ruth and of Boaz.

God blessed Ruth’s faith and Boaz’ kindness. I believe that David must have known that he was part of God’s plan.

It reminds me of what Matthew wrote:

This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2 Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4 Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6 and Jesse the father of King David - Matthew 1:2-6

4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:4-11

Exalted by the Most High - David knew the fact that his blessed position was not from his own merits or abilities but from the gift of God.

1-4) What do you think about what David says here?

We learn that our true identity is found in the chosen grace of our Lord Jesus.

David used to be a lowly shepherd boy in the field. He was not even present when the prophet Samuel looked for the very one among the sons of Jesse.

David knew that God had chose him from a low status. When he became aware of this grace, he learned to be humble before God.

2. Read verses 2-4. Who spoke through David? (2) What revelation about ruling is given to David? (3,4)  What do you think about this message given to David?

2-1) Read verses 2-4.

² “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. ³ The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, ⁴ he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’

2-2) Who spoke through David? (2)

The Spirit of the Lord spoke through David; his word was on my tongue.

In other words, what he was saying here is not casual remarks but inspired words.

The Spirit of the Lord and his words go side by side.

The God of Israel spoke, the rock of israel said to me(3a).

We can learn here that David humbly relied on the Lord; he was able to utter such words.

Because he experienced difficult times throughout his life as a fugitive, he could have expressed nothing but bitterness, complaints, and regrets. However he was inspired by the Spirit of the Lord and a humble spirit before God.

Take note of “the Rock of Israel,” this phrase represents stability, security, and faithfulness.

Despite all difficulties in his life, David was able to keep his integrity thanks to his faith in his God, the Rock.

2-3) What revelation about ruling is given to David? (3,4)  

³ The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, ⁴ he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’

Looking back on his life as a king, he could have boasted about what he had done as a great king. However he did not.

Once again, the God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: “When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise…, like the brightness after rain…

Here we may believe that the ‘one’ referred to here is our Lord Jesus Christ who is able to rule over people in perfect righteousness and in holy fear of God.

When David learned from God, he was able to iterate his goodness.

David fixed his eyes on God as his personal Lord and role model who sets an example for everything in life.

In his life as a ruler, David did not abuse his power (with the exception of Uriah and Bathsheba) but kept such principles: in righteousness and in holy fear before God.

This was a great contrast between David and other powerful men such as Joab.

And then he became an inkling of Christ like John the baptist.

Jesus is the light of the world

(John 9:5 “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”)

2-4) What do you think about this message given to David?

David was able to see beyond his own life. This message explains who the true Messiah is.

David must personally have known what the Lord his God is doing in accordance with what he had promised. Therefore he ruled in such a way that was mindful of God’s promises.

Based on 2 Samuel 7:11-16, David cherished the words of God’s covenant of God’s plan for Jesus Christ to come rule as our Servant King.

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul,whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”

3. Read verses 5-7. What did God do for David because his house was right with God? (5)  What does David say about evil men? (6,7)

3-1) Read verses 5-7.

⁵ “If my house were not right with God, surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part; surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire. ⁶ But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. ⁷ Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie.”

3-2) What did God do for David because his house was right with God? (5)  

⁵ “If my house were not right with God, surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part; surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire.

This is not a boasting, rather it is an objective declaration of his relationship with God.

David had committed terrible sins before God. He knew how costly it was without having a good relationship with the Lord and the benefit of repentance before God.

Since then, David must have sought God’s kingdom and His righteousness as his top priority.

Nothing is more important than seeking a good relationship with our Lord.

*This portion of the passage reminds me of the last words of Joshua who succeeded Moses.

Joshua 24 -

Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.

2 Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. 3 But I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac, 4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt.

5 “‘Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, and I brought you out. 6 When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. 7 But they cried to the Lord for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.

8 “‘I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. 9 When Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel, he sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on you. 10 But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed youagain and again, and I delivered you out of his hand.

11 “‘Then you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against you, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but I gave them into your hands. 12 I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you—also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. 13 So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.’

14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods! 17 It was the Lord our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. 18 And the Lord drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.” 19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”

21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

22 Then Joshua said, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes, we are witnesses,” they replied.

23 “Now then,” said Joshua, “throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

24 And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” 25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. 26 And Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the Lord.

27 “See!” he said to all the people. “This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the Lord has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God.”

28 Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.

29 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 30 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

31 Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel.

**One of our recent daily bread passages that came from Daniel 11:28-35, also shows that God still preserved his own remnant of people regardless of difficult times.

The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. 29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. 30 Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 33 “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

***Let us remember what Jesus says in Matthew 24 before his crucifixion for this is part of the last words(teachings) of Jesus Christ!

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

**** Lastly let us refresh our memory about 2 Samuel 7:8-26 about both God’s promise(covenants) and David’s prayer for I believe that it becomes a basic framework for his faith.

8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul,whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” 17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation. 18 Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? 19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant—and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human! 20 “What more can David say to you? For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant. 22 “How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God. 25 “And now, Lord God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty is God over Israel!’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your sight. 27 “Lord Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. 28 Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your covenant is trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, Sovereign Lord, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever.”

3-3) What does David say about evil men? (6,7)

“But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie.”

Thi is a great contrast between righteous men and evil men.

Evil men are those who rely on their own tools and weapons while the righteous rely on God.

May the Lord help us to rely on the living words of God.

Conclusion)

We have learned much from the inspired words of David. David spoke through the Spirit of the Lord. He could have said many other things. However he fixed his eyes on God who taught him to be faithful. In this way he is filled with thanks and sees what God has done throughout his life. David is not overcome by his own pride. David consistently served the Lord his God throughout his lifetime and repented when he sinned against God.  His faithful ways reflect what Jesus’ life would be like in generations to come as the Savior of all. (Acts 12:36, “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation”)

One word: The Lord Spoke Through David