Second Samuel 23:1

The Bible says in Second Samuel 23:1, “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,” David was the son of Jesse. Remember that Jesse had seven sons, and David was the youngest of the seven. Because David was the youngest, he was given the job of tending the sheep. Three of David’s older brothers were already in the army. Therefore, when war came and the giant soldier Goliath came on the scene, David was the most unlikely to help. God took the youngest and made something out of him. God took the youngest and the smallest and made him the champion. Being with the sheep turned out to be a blessing and an excellent preparation for the challenges to come in the future. In all those hours with the sheep, David learned to use a slingshot evidently with great power and accuracy. As David sat many hours while the sheep grazed, evidently, he also learned to meditate upon God and various truths about God such as the truth, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” and the rest of the 23^rd Psalm. David was honored because he was called, “the sweet psalmist of Israel.” David used music and poetry to praise God and he was highly honored for it. Christians are told to read David’s Psalms and to meditate upon them. It says in Ephesians 5:19, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;”

David is called here “the man who was raised up on high.” He did have a very high calling. In addition to being king, he was a type of Christ. He was in the linage of Christ. David was given a special promise from God concerning the age of the New Testament to come in which believers in Jesus would experience “the sure mercies of David.” In one of the great writings about justification by faith, the Apostle Paul quoited from one of David’s Psalms in Romans 4:6-8, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,[7] Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.[8] Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 23:2-7 that the last words of King David were as follows, “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6] But the sons of Belial shall be all of them as thorns thrust away, because they cannot be taken with hands:[7] 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.” David was used by God to write an important part of the Bible: the Psalms. What David said in verse two tells us how all of the Bible was written. David said, “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue.” The Bible is called the Word of God because the words came from God. Yes, God used people to write it, and God used their vocabulary and their knowledge and their mind, but when they wrote, they wrote the words of God. It says in Second Peter 1:21, “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” It says in Second Timothy 3:16, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:” God gave His Word, and God preserved His Word. That is why we have the Bible that is reliable, true, and without error. What good would it have done if God gave His Word without preserving it over the centuries? Jesus said in Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”

David said in verse three, “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me.” One of the names for God is “the Rock.” That is because Jesus is a sure foundation. There is no better foundation. As the old song says, “All other ground is sinking sand.” Jesus and His teachings and the Word of God are the best foundation that you can ever have. Jesus and His teachings are the best foundation that you can have in this life. Jesus is such a good foundation that He will take you all the way to heaven. Jesus is such a good foundation that by trusting in Him and living according to His teachings, you will become the best person that you can be and you will have the best life possible for you. David became the king of Israel, and at the end of verse three David was told how to be the best king that he could be: “He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God.” That is true for every leader and that is true no matter what is your occupation or calling. To be just means to do right. Always to the right thing. As Bob Jones senior used to say, “Do right until the stars fall.” When faced with a situation or a decision, let this be your guide, “What is the right thing to do here?” Not what is the prosperous thing, and not what do I want, but “What is the right thing to do here?” That is because God sees and knows and we want to please the Lord and do things according to His will. That will make a great king all right. That will make a great carpenter, and a great plumber, and a great accountant, and a great computer programmer. If you do things God’s way consistently, verse four is an expression of the good effect that will have on everyone in your sphere of influence: “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.” Your life will be compared to “a morning without clouds” and “tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.” In other words, your life will be like a beautiful thing honored and welcomed and loved by everyone who knows you.

Notice that David said in verse five, “Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant…” David knew that his family was not everything that it should have been or could have been. Neither was David. Even the best of saints are still sinners. In spite of the human failures, David said, “yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant.” Because of Jesus, God more than makes up for the failures and sins of man. If you believe on Jesus, God will fix it, and He will fix it forever. It is an everlasting covenant, meaning that it will last forever. If you believe in Jesus and accept Him into your heart, you have eternal life.

In verse five David used the phrase “ordered in all things.” Once you believe in God, you have the ability to see that there is an order, a design, and a purpose to all things. God is involved in every detail of your life. That is true with the good things and the bad things. It is the teaching of Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and to them that are the called according to His purpose.”

Notice the last phrase of verse five: “for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.” David knew he was saved, and David knew that God showered blessings upon him in giving David what David described as “all my desire.” God does give us the desires of our heart, and God does answer our prayer. But sometimes God answers our prayers by doing nothing. Sometimes we have periods when we do not see people saved, we do not see new Christians join the congregation, and we do not see Christians growing and maturing in the Lord. But even that is God doing or not doing what He chooses. We believe in Jesus, trust in Jesus, and serve Jesus no matter what. As David said even though God “make it not to grow,” we will continue to trust in Him and serve Him.

In verses six and seven David talks about those who do not believe in the Lord. Unfortunately, there are many; and we will continue to pray for them. But we must always remember that there is a difference between the saved and the unsaved. Even though we pray for them, we know that some of their activities we must stay away from, such as drinking, drugs, wild parties, immorality, and worse. This is the doctrine of separation. “Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” David wrote in Psalms 1:1-2, “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.[2] But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.” One truth that should help you stay separate from the ungodly is knowing their final destiny if they do not repent. At the end of verse six David wrote that the ungodly would be “as thorns thrust away.” At the end of verse seven David said, “they shall be utterly burned with fire.” David wrote in Psalm 1:4-6, “The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.[5] Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.[6] For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Jesus said in Matthew 7:13, “…wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 23:8-12, “These be the names of the mighty men whom David had: The Tachmonite that sat in the seat, chief among the captains; the same was Adino the Eznite: he lift up his spear against eight hundred, whom he slew at one time.[9] And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David, when they defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone away:[10] He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil.[11] And after him was Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite. And the Philistines were gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the Philistines.[12] But he stood in the midst of the ground, and defended it, and slew the Philistines: and the LORD wrought a great victory.” Most people know the story of David and Goliath: the Christian youth against the evil giant. God gave the victory to the youth in an astounding way. Of course, the lesson for us is that we also can defeat our Goliaths. These verses tell us other great victories that took place with other soldiers who fought with and for King David. Notice what it says about those victories. It says in verse ten, “and the LORD wrought a great victory that day.” It says in verse twelve, “and the LORD wrought a great victory.” These were very capable men: strong men and men of valor. But they did not win because of their strength and ability. They won because the Lord gave them the victory. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

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