2 Samuel 23 (Listen)

The Last Words of David

23:1 Now these are the last words of David:

  The oracle of David, the son of Jesse,
    the oracle of the man who was raised on high,
  the anointed of the God of Jacob,
    the sweet psalmist of Israel:¹
2   “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me;
    his word is on my tongue.
3   The God of Israel has spoken;
    the Rock of Israel has said to me:
  When one rules justly over men,
    ruling in the fear of God,
4   he dawns on them like the morning light,
    like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning,
    like rain² that makes grass to sprout from the earth.
5   “For does not my house stand so with God?
    For he has made with me an everlasting covenant,
    ordered in all things and secure.
  For will he not cause to prosper
    all my help and my desire?
6   But worthless men³ are all like thorns that are thrown away,
    for they cannot be taken with the hand;
7   but the man who touches them
    arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear,
    and they are utterly consumed with fire.”⁴

David’s Mighty Men

8 These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: Josheb-basshebeth a Tahchemonite; he was chief of the three.⁵ He wielded his spear⁶ against eight hundred whom he killed at one time.

9 And next to him among the three mighty men was Eleazar the son of Dodo, son of Ahohi. He was with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel withdrew. 10 He rose and struck down the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clung to the sword. And the LORD brought about a great victory that day, and the men returned after him only to strip the slain.

11 And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi,⁷ where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines. 12 But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the LORD worked a great victory.

13 And three of the thirty chief men went down and came about harvest time to David at the cave of Adullam, when a band of Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. 15 And David said longingly, “Oh, that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!” 16 Then the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem that was by the gate and carried and brought it to David. But he would not drink of it. He poured it out to the LORD 17 and said, “Far be it from me, O LORD, that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men who went at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.

18 Now Abishai, the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was chief of the thirty.⁸ And he wielded his spear against three hundred men⁹ and killed them and won a name beside the three. 19 He was the most renowned of the thirty¹⁰ and became their commander, but he did not attain to the three.

20 And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a valiant man¹¹ of Kabzeel, a doer of great deeds. He struck down two ariels¹² of Moab. He also went down and struck down a lion in a pit on a day when snow had fallen. 21 And he struck down an Egyptian, a handsome man. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand, but Benaiah went down to him with a staff and snatched the spear out of the Egyptian’s hand and killed him with his own spear. 22 These things did Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and won a name beside the three mighty men. 23 He was renowned among the thirty, but he did not attain to the three. And David set him over his bodyguard.

24 Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, 25 Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, 26 Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh of Tekoa, 27 Abiezer of Anathoth, Mebunnai the Hushathite, 28 Zalmon the Ahohite, Maharai of Netophah, 29 Heleb the son of Baanah of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, 30 Benaiah of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of Gaash, 31 Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of Bahurim, 32 Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, 33 Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, 34 Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai of Maacah, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite, 35 Hezro¹³ of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, 36 Igal the son of Nathan of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, 37 Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, 38 Ira the Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, 39 Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

(ESV)

The final words of a humbled and exalted king. Note the passive voice: “the man who was *raised* on high.” Truly it had been David’s experience that God was the faithful, active power, his “Raiser”. Ideal kingship was declared in verses one to four, but in verse five he confessed his short-coming of that righteous standard. Yet God proved faithful. But in the hands of the Most High, the only future for unrepentant wicked is destruction.

What is the fruit of David’s might and meekness? Consider his impact on the list of men concluding this chapter. Recall their origins. They met David in the caves of Adullam, willing to serve their would-be king, yet scared, poor and worn thin. Rough rogues were transformed into Mighty Men in the hands of their king whose heart was after his King’s.

James 4 (Listen)

Warning Against Worldliness

4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions¹ are at war within you?² 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people!³ Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.⁴ The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

(ESV)

We want so we pursue: evil or righteousness. Hunting down natural desire requires slaughtering any in the way. But is that the image God installs, the spirit He is jealous for? Or is it rather the sin nature at war? Grace is in great supply for the humble who look to Him, away from sin. He is our deepest satisfaction, the great weapon against our wants. Cling to these promises. Resist the devil and he will flee! Draw near to God and He will draw near to you! His grace is given for resistance from the devil and assistance in His power; right relation to the Shepherd means “we shall not want.” This enables right relation to others: not in judgement, but in preference. How can our limited perspective judge? Only God knows. So consider your speech, repent of such sin and depend upon Him.