David, Final Thoughts – Ward Near

“David, Final Thoughts” II Samuel 22-I Kings 1

Chapter 21 of II Samuel starting in verse 15 shows that the passing years begin to take a toll on David. He is no longer a young man at this point and becomes weary in battle. His foe has a new sword and desires the glory of killing David. He is also one of the men of large stature. David is helped by Abishai (son of Zeruiah, his sister and thus his nephew). At that time, the men told David that he must not go out to war with them anymore lest the lamp of Israel be extinguished. The type of fighting done in those days with swords and spears was very exhausting work. If we compare it to professional football today, we can see that older men do not take the field to play ball and even today, armies prefer 19 year old recruits for purposes of going to war. David must now learn to lead from a distance and come to terms with his age.
In Chapter 22 of II Samuel we find David’s psalm of deliverance. There are many lessons to be learned from this psalm. David calls the Lord his rock and fortress. He learned well in the days of fleeing from Saul that he did not have the men or power to use any physical fortress against Saul nor could he call himself secure at any time in the wilderness. He had to trust in God to deliver him from Saul on a daily basis. Clearly this stuck with him the rest of his life. Sooner or later, all of us will find troubles and issues far beyond our own strength and we must learn to live by faith. It is one thing to speak of living by faith and quite another thing to actually do it. David had his struggles but really did have to live by faith while fleeing from Saul. He speaks of prayer to the Lord and deliverance from those who hate him. He also says that they are too strong for him. David is not speaking of his own strength and ability to battle. He gives credit to the Lord for helping him. However, there is more to this than Just David. When he speaks of keeping all the statutes and being blameless and mentions such things as the foundations of the earth being laid bare, then he must be speaking of the coming Messiah, the son of David. God promised to build his house and establish the throne forever and he never forgot this most precious promise. David ends with a note of praise for the lovingkindness bestowed upon his house by God. The promises were fulfilled in Christ when he came to save and now He sits on the right hand of God waiting for his enemies to be made a foot stool for his feet.
We see similar elements in the last words or last song of David. When the prophet Nathan came to speak to David in the name of God, he reminds him that God took him from following the sheep which is a very humble profession and elevated him to the highest position in the land. He calls himself the man who was raised on high. He knew the position he enjoyed had been given to him by God. He speaks of the ruler who rules righteously and then of the everlasting covenant and the word of the Spirit being on his lips. This also points to the Messiah to come. Things were revealed to David that remained hidden to others. In Psalms 110:1 he says, “The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand, until I make thine enemies a footstool for Thy Feet.” Jesus asked the religious leaders whom the Messiah will be and the answer was the son of David. He then asked why David in the Spirit called him Lord. How could a mere man, the son of David be Lord. Further, how could the son be Lord over the father as the father was always venerated in that culture. They could not answer nor did they dare to ask him any further questions. (Matthew 22:42-46) The Jews in the days of Jesus were looking for a leader or king to save the nation. They were not looking for personal salvation nor were they looking for the son of God. Most particularly, they were not looking to repent or change any of their ways. They did not like criticism and were infuriated when Jesus held up their practices to the light of Scripture. Salvation was seen more on a national level and they saw the nation as theirs to lead. When they were upset with Jesus after Lazarus was raised from the dead, they said that since he was performing many signs that soon everyone would believe in him and then the Romans would come and take away their place and their nation. After Jesus was raised, even the disciples asked about restoring the kingdom. The Jews look forward to a human messiah to this day. David in his psalm called the coming Messiah Lord and said He will be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Even though the scribes and Pharisees studied the scripture, they could not see these things that seem so clear to us today. Rather, they were blind as that famous passage in chapter 6 of Isaiah. Yet some vision was given to David so he could write these Psalms. He was not counted among those who were blind.
Toward the end of the book of II Samuel we find the chapter on the mighty men that David had. These men were loyal followers and more. Truly, if we set out to work for God, help will be given to us from various quarters. Anyone starting out on this road needs to learn and relearn that we are small and God is big. His hand has not grown short nor is anything to hard for Him. The mighty men were no small part of the military success David had in his many battles. These mighty men helped David in his various battles and at the end of his life when there were questions about the succession to the throne, his mighty men stayed with him.
In the first chapter of I kings, we find David has become old. Actually, he was around 70 which is not considered exceptionally old now, but David had lived a hard life in strongholds and on the run for many years. He also had fought many battles and led his armies in the field. For those times, he was an old man. There was an oriental belief that if an old person breathes in the breath of a young person, that will help them to renew their strength. Thus as the king grew old and was cold at night, a search was made for a young and beautiful girl to minister to the king. She was really more of a nurse than a wife to the king.
Also, as the king grew old, questions of the succession came up. In an oriental court, the power of the king and the possible succession is always on the minds of those in court. Absolom had tried to take the kingdom by force previously but failed in the attempt. Adonijah was the fourth son of David and perhaps the eldest living son. It is recorded that he was a good looking man. Amnon the eldest son was killed by Absalom. Chileab was the second son and we have no record of what happened to him. Absalom was the third son and was killed by Joab in the battle of the rebellion. In I Kings 1:6 we see that Adonijah had chariots, horsemen, and men to run in front of him. In II Samuel 15:1, this is exactly what Absalom did when he intended to claim the throne. David was up in years at this time and did not rebuke Adonijah. We cannot be sure from the account just how well David was following events in the kingdom. Eastern customs include power challenging in which a person who wants political power will look for a powerful sponsor or gather followers and attempt to assume leadership. Such followers can expect to be richly rewarded if the power challenger succeeds. In typical eastern fashion, various people go over to Adonijah. Joab and Abiathar the priest were apparently with Adonijah and assumed that he would become the next king. Joab was always trying to preserve his position as head of the army and the new rival is Benaiah who had led in fighting in the past and had a name among David’s mighty men (See II Samuel 23:20-23). Joab had killed his rivals in the past to keep his position. In I Kings 1:9 we see a big sacrifice with many guests invited which would be common when a new king is anointed. There will be a feast showing the generosity of the new king and the people invited to the feast will show both the power of the pretender and who is in favor. Of course, those not invited are not in favor. The location is En-rogel meaning the spring of Rogel which is in the Kidron Valley south of Jerusalem. All of the king’s sons were invited except for Solomon. Nathan the prophet was not invited along with Zadok the priest, Benaiah the general, and the mighty men who followed David. These are seen as being loyal to David and there must have been some knowledge of the desire on the part of David to make Solomon king after him in order to explain why Solomon was deleted from the guest list for the sacrifice. The guest list makes it clear who will be considered as an enemy after Adonijah makes himself king. In the oriental court, all power flows to and through the king and to be with the king is insurance of prosperity and favor. To be out of favor is very dangerous. Nathan the prophet sees what is going on and approaches Bathsheba with his concerns. In I Kings 1:11-14 he tells her that she should listen to his advice in order to save her life and life of Solomon. Nathan reasons that Solomon must die in order for Adonijah to consolidate his kingdom. David has promised to make Solomon king and this promise will be remembered.
Here and for the last time, David is having trouble dealing with his sons as he has struggled with this issue before. He has not rebuked Adonijah although it is not certain how much he knows of what is going on as he certainly does not know that Adonijah has made himself king. Following the advice of the prophet, Bathsheba goes in to remind the king of his promise and tell him what Adonijah is doing. Nathan the prophet comes in afterwards to confirm her words and also mentions that he was not invited to the feast along with Zadok, Benaih, and Solomon. David know enough about court intrigue to fill in the blanks. He also knows that immediate action is needed and he acts. David makes Solomon king that day while he is still alive to see it through. Solomon rides on the king’s mule and sits on the throne. David states that God has granted one to sit on the throne while his eyes can still see it. The noise in the city regarding the coronation carries to the spring and the guests of Adonijah become terrified and melt away.
We need to go to a portion recorded after the death of David to sum up his life and reign. I Kings 15:4-5 states “But for David’s sake the Lord his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, to raise up his son after him and to establish Jerusalem; because David did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the case of Uriah the HIttite.” This is the testimony of David. Even though the kings of both Israel and Judah were, at various times, wicked and Godless, the two kingdoms were treated differently. Israel had several different ruling houses and some of them were severely judged and exterminated. Judah kept an unbroken line for the sake of David.
We know that David was not perfect as our Bible is a factual book and truly shows the men of God warts and all. This record shows the heart of David. He desired to be faithful and was ready to repent if he did wrong. He did not become arrogant and grasping of power. As we compare David to Saul, Saul was very jealous of his position and the throne. He wanted his line established after him. God told him clearly this would not happen but he refused to accept it. Had he obeyed and accepted the word from God perhaps more years would have been added to his life. We know that God honors obedience. However, Saul spent the remainder of his years training David to be king by trying to kill him. He was even willing to slaughter the priests of Nob when he thought they helped David. We can also compare the reactions of the two men when rebuked by the prophet Samuel and Nathan. Saul did not repent but instead brought up a string of excuses. When Nathan rebuked David he saw that he had done wrong and repented. When God was punishing David and he fled Jerusalem, he let Shimei curse and throw stones and dust at him. He said perhaps God told him to curse. Further, when David was restored as king, he forgave Shimei and did not have him punished. This is a rare thing. David sent the priests and the Ark back to Jerusalem and was willing to wait for God to bring him back again. He knew that worship would continue with or without him but hoped that the Lord would restore him.
Saul was a modest man when made king but not everyone can manage power without becoming arrogant and proud. It has often been said that the true measure of a man is what he does when he can do as he wishes. The goal of having a “good heart” like David is a worthy goal for any Christian today.