2 SAMUEL 23
JT This chapter presents David as a person who can speak on God’s behalf. He is called a prophet in the New Testament. The word ‘saith’ here has an oracular meaning; it is an authoritative pronouncement. It is important that there is such a thing among God’s people. So that I trust the Lord will help us on these last words of David. They are also poetic, as is chapter 22, and run on down to the end of verse 7.
AR When you say ‘oracular’, do you mean it is the same as God saying it Himself?
JT God Himself is the first to use the word in Genesis 22: “And the Angel of Jehovah called to Abraham from the heavens a second time, and said, By myself I swear, saith Jehovah”, Genesis 22:15,16. It seems to be a formal pronouncement by God Himself as to what He is saying.
Rem It is the same word in Balaam’s prophecy; Numbers 24:23.
JT It is worth while taking notice of, because a certain amount of authority is in it, which is important to bear in mind amongst us. If the Spirit of God has His place, what is said is authoritative.
Rem “If any man speak let him speak as the oracles of God”, 1 Peter 4:11.
JT It is not what one thinks, but what is the truth.
CAM It speaks in Romans 3 of the Jews as having the oracles of God. Would it be right to connect authoritative speaking with what we call temple conditions?
JT The word ‘oracle’ in Genesis denotes an authoritative pronouncement. It is something to be sought out. In Corinthians it says, “Do ye not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The thing is brought in very formally there.
WB-w Why is it connected in Genesis 22 with the Angel speaking the second time out of heaven?
JT The first time is in verse 11: “And the Angel of Jehovah called to him from the heavens, and said, Abraham, Abraham!”, Genesis 22:11. The word is not used there, but it is in the second utterance by the Angel: “By myself I swear, saith Jehovah”. (Genesis 22:16) The oath with this remarkable word would give great assurance to the believer.
WB-w It is like Hebrews 6:18: “that by two unchangeable things, in which it was impossible that God should lie”.
AR Hebrews makes much of faith in connection with the work of God. There is also a reference to Noah’s being oracularly warned in Hebrews 11:7.
JT He prepared an ark for the saving of his house. We ought to be listening for these peculiar pronouncements of God. They come in in ministry meetings and in readings. Things we often hear become peculiarly pronounced as the Spirit has His place.
AR Hence the importance of being at the meetings.
JT Yes. Moses went in to speak to Jehovah and God spoke to him; Numbers 7:89. I suppose God knew that he would be ready to listen. God will speak if we are ready to listen.
ABP David speaks to God in the previous chapter, but in this one he is speaking to men.
JT There is an oracular pronouncement which, I believe, belongs to a prophet; this is a prophetic word: “The ruler among men shall be just”. David [p. 253] shows that he is qualified in what he says about himself; “Now these are the last words of David: David the son of Jesse saith, And the man who was raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel saith, The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me. And his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of [p. 260] Israel spoke to me, The ruler among men shall be just”. He certainly qualifies in all that he says here.
FNW Is David’s personality before us in verse 1?
JT It is first David and then the son of Jesse, then the man raised up on high, then the anointed of the God of Jacob, and then the sweet psalmist of Israel. He has titles to his name.
CAM That emphasises that there will be personality at the end.
JT I think the whole chapter is full of that. When you come down to the mighty men in verse 8 it is all a question of personality. David is pre-eminently such. Heaven will be full of personalities. I think the idea is that we shall know each other as we are known.
CAM Personality gives a tone to our meetings.
JT David is at his best here and his distinctive features stand out prominently as he speaks in the power of the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God calls attention to what is spiritual.
Ques Do we get outstanding personalities in Moses and Elias when the Lord was transfigured?
JT Matthew brings that out. He speaks of the Son of man coming in His glory, which would call attention to what had been. It is the Person of the Son of man that is in mind; the greatest in the universe comes in His glory. Matthew also says He sits on the throne of His glory. Mark is not so pronounced about that, he speaks of how exceeding white His garments were. Matthew gives us the [p. 254] names of the two great prophets; he does not tell us they were men, he says, “Moses and Elias”. Luke says, “two men”, and then tells us their names. Matthew’s is the great account of the transfiguration that deals with personalities. The Spirit of God in Matthew 17:26 goes on to tell us that the saints are free and have part with Christ. I think that is what we have here in this chapter; it is a question of personality at the end of the book, in David particularly, but also in the mighty men. We are carefully reminded of them in proper gradations, they are not all alike. God takes pleasure in differentiating because we are graded, and we shall be graded in heaven. But I believe everybody will be knowable there, we shall not need any introduction. Personality comes out at the end in men like Jacob and Moses, and now with David. These are his last words. It is a striking coincidence that in 1 Chronicles it tells us that among the last words of David were his instructions regarding the young brothers. He reduces the age for the beginning of the Levites’ service to twenty years; 1 Chronicles 23:27.
APf Is personality acquired or is it a gift?
JT It is both, and it all hinges on new birth which brings us into the family and gives us status. All attainments and acquirements attach to that. Sonship is the thing and is the great binding thought, and all acquirements and attainments attach to that. David was in the light of sonship; that is where personality lies. The Lord immediately brings it in in Matthew 17.
Ques Does David give character to the mighty men? It is the men he had. Joab is left out.
JT But his armour-bearer is mentioned, showing how discriminating the Spirit of God is in this matter of personality. We do not want to be behind; we want to be knowable. “If any man love God the same is known of him”, 1 Corinthians 8:3. Lovers of God will be known and recognised.
TA Peter, James and John had a distinct place. The Lord selected them to go up the mountain with Him.
APT They were really the first three among the twelve.
WB-w Joab seemed to have a great personality in fighting the battles of Jehovah, and yet his name is not here.
JT There are personalities in the world too. In the book of Revelation we read of seven thousand names of men perishing.
ANW If sonship is the key to it, it must evidently lie in what we are. rather than in what we say. All these men are mighty, and they are accredited with having done much.
JT David is alluded to as the son of Jesse, a man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel. Those are distinguishing marks; but strictly the only attainment was in the fact that he was “the sweet psalmist of Israel”. He had nothing to do with his sonship to Jesse; he was “raised up on high” by God; and as “the anointed of the God of Jacob”, God did the anointing. But “the sweet psalmist of Israel” indicates an acquirement.
WB-w Is “the anointed” the official place he had as man?
JT Yes. That he was anointed implied, of course, that he had suitable qualifications.
CAM Would it be right to say “the fathers” were prominent at the beginning, whereas sonship is what is prominent at the end? Sonship was not understood for a long time.
JP Paul and John and others spoke and acted as fathers, but there is a great lack of fathers today. Paul himself had to say that there were not many [p. 256] fathers. The truth of sonship was always there, but it seems that it has been reserved for special emphasis in the last days, to give us tone before our exit.
AR Would you say it is more understood now?
JT Sonship may be more understood, but the exercise of a fatherly spirit is hardly known. Those that God is using are generally young men. The ability to serve and brotherly feeling are more prominent than fatherly qualities, which are not developed very much amongst us. The mutual side, however, has been stressed. This would correspond with “the last words of David”, by which the serving age of the Levites was reduced to twenty to bring in the young men, making the most of them. I remember when the fatherly side, or what might be called the patriarchal position, was pronounced. Young men and women were kept down; care meetings were in the hands of a few elder brethren; the younger men were not recognised very much in the things of God. But I believe the Lord has brought in the other side and is stressing mutuality. So that you get a much better spirit and more energy, but a shortage of fathers.
CAM Those elder brethren who shut the young men out were not looking for those who would carry on the testimony.
JT That is a good way to put it. It is weighing on many hearts today as to how things are to go on. The Lord is answering it by bringing forward the younger men. The Lord is helping the younger ones. Paul speaks of himself as “Paul, the aged”. He calls for the elders of Ephesus; they are elders, but doubtless they would be younger than he; he puts responsibility on them. When he comes toward the end of his life he puts it largely on Timothy, as seen in the apostle’s second letter to him.
Ques Would you say that David’s history here would be more connected with the wilderness [p. 257] side of the truth? It was when he was under great stress.
JT Yes. It is interesting to note that Chronicles gives us the mighties as David was entering on his reign. Here we get them as he is finishing, showing that the idea of the mighty men is as much at the end as it is at the beginning.
RWS The great men of the Philistines are smitten in the end of chapter 21. It says, “they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants”, 2 Samuel 21:22. Is the ground thus cleared for the services of these men to come forward?
JT Quite so. Some of them had part with David in the overthrowing of these super-giants. It says that David was succoured (verse 17), whereas he begins by dealing with Goliath single-handed with no human support whatever; but as the kingdom went on he had support. The Lord when here dealt with the enemy by Himself, but in the kingdom He brings persons to His side. David is succoured. All these enemies are dealt with by David and his men. It is to bring out the development under David, what he and his mighty men accomplished; he was not doing everything by himself. The Lord loves to spread responsibility abroad: “Give ye them to eat”, (Matthew 14:16) He says to His disciples. They do not do it, but still He puts it on them. He would give us work to do as we are ready to do it. These mighties are the outcome of David’s example and influence.
CAM Would Paul and his company be similar to this? They must have all learned from him.
JT Quite so. Mark having that side in view tells us the Lord selected certain ones that they might be with Him. It is as being with David that these men became what they were. It is a question of being with the Lord.
JTJr In 1 Chronicles 27 there were twelve divisions of twenty-four thousand each and twelve of the mighties were over them. Would the idea be [p. 258] to spread the character of David throughout Israel?
JT That is the thought. Any mighty man is an example for others. Mark gives you the clue: the Lord appointed twelve “that they might be with him”, Mark 3:14. As being with the Lord you get the idea of what He is. Mark is the book to keep in mind for mighty men, because it is the kingdom of God come in power; it is not personality in that sense, but power. Power gives us personality. It necessitates being with the Lord and seeing how He does things. There is increase and it spreads.
TA Barnabas and Paul were men who risked their lives.
AR Why does Mark stress the idea of young men sitting?
JT I do not think a man will be much good unless he has learned to sit and be quiet and take things in. Mark tells us the Lord sat at the right hand of God. The allusion is to the place of power. The disciples went everywhere preaching, the Lord working with them, but they are doing it.
WB-w Is not that the point of these last words? It is Christ at the right hand of God in power, typified in David.
JT Quite so. One has often thought of Paul, how much is said of him by himself. What does that mean? “To me, less than the least of all saints”, he says; (Ephesians 3:8). The Spirit of God says, I can use that man to tell people of his own virtues and exploits. I want to bring those virtues prominently before the brethren, but if he is an egotistical kind of man I cannot use him. “Less than the least of all saints”, (Ephesians 3:6) the Spirit can use that man. Why should that man’s qualities and works be lost? They are the kind that are needed as examples in the testimony. There is more said about Paul personally than about any other of the Lord’s servants in the New Testament.
AL “I, Paul, say unto you”, Galatians 5:2. He uses such [p. 259] phrases as that constantly. Why does the Spirit of God use him to say that?
JT It is because he is entirely free of himself. “Being such a one as Paul the aged” (Philemon 9): the Spirit of God says that through his own mouth. Then David says here: “The anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel”. The Spirit of God loves to say that; I think the sweet tones of David’s voice resounded in heaven.
Ques What is the difference between his personality and his qualifications? Would verse 1 be his personality and verses 2 and 3 his qualifications?
JT Verse 2 says, “The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue”. The important thing is “the Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me”, meaning he is a man that Jehovah had used. He is qualified to be used on a special occasion. Some of us might be used at any time; but there are some very special occasions, and God has regard to the experience of efficiency at such times.
WB-w “The sweet psalmist of Israel” must be special. Does that apply to the Lord Jesus singing praises in the midst of the assembly?
JT Quite so. You would like to have heard David sing. “In the midst of the assembly will I sing thy praises”, (Hebrews 2:12) are the Lord’s words. It is the supreme idea of singing. You love to think of the Lord taking part in that way. So that it is what David is worthy of here; the Spirit of God indicates that He is using him because of these things. God uses us as we are available.
Ques “The Rock of Israel spoke to me, The ruler among men shall be just”. What would you say about that?
JT David said all that about himself. It says, “The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me, and his word was on my tongue”. The word of God was on that tongue. “The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spoke to me, the ruler among men shall be just”.
WB-w There must be great honour in the idea of being spoken to. “The Rock of Israel spoke to me”, I have to be prepared to be spoken to. It says in verse 2, “The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me”. There I am an instrument He can use.
JT That is it. As has been said, Moses went in to speak to God, but God says, in effect, I wish to speak to you. Oracular communications were to be heard. All these communications to Moses, so often alluded to, came out from between the cherubim; it is all on that principle. A man has to be spoken to first so that he may be able to speak to God or for God.
Rem There would be harmony in the music of the sweet psalmist of Israel.
JT Quite so. The Spirit of God is teaching us that God has great occasions in view, and it is very important in His mind that there should be some able to take part in these occasions. David is being used by the Spirit of God to tell us what qualification she has. “The ruler among men shall be just, Ruling in the fear of God; and he shall be as the light of the morning, like the rising of the sun, a morning without clouds; when from the sunshine, after rain, the green grass springeth from the earth”, verse 3, 4. That is the thing. God is going to have fruitfulness among His people.
WB-w It says, “The ruler among men shall be just”. Does that apply to those who are rulers among the saints, not over them but among them?
JT Quite so. The word there might be ‘over’ but Mr. Darby prefers ‘among’. The king was to be taken from among his brethren according to Deuteronomy, and the Lord says, “I am among you as he that serveth”, Luke 22:27. Ruling is largely by influence.
APT When Moses spoke to two of his brethren who were striving together, one said, “Who made thee ruler and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:14). No doubt he had much to learn as to rule.
JT He was refused. But “whom they refused ... him did God send to be a ruler and deliver with the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush”, Acts 7:35. He was “very meek above all men that were upon the face of the earth” (Numbers 12:3).
RWS Do you not think the point is to be influential? David here speaks of failure in relation to his house.
JT His house was not equal to his pronouncement. He says, “Although my house be not so before God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in every way and sure; for this is all my salvation, and every desire, although he make it not to grow”. That is an acknowledgment. The first thing involves a pronouncement, the idea of ruling, and the result of it is as the green grass springing up from the earth.
Ques Would Psalm 45 fit in here? “My heart is welling forth with a good matter: I say what I have composed touching the king. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer” (Psalm 45:1).
JT That is what developed in his own heart, but this is a pronouncement by God. It is really what the Rock of Israel said.
ABP Would this be carried in David’s soul right through his reign, and would his departure from it only serve to enhance his appreciation of God’s standard?
JT That is right. He must have had a vision or an appearance from God as to kingship. God always appears to His servants if He intends to use them. But he says, “although my house be not so before God”.
That is a humbling thing; I suppose every one of us would have to make an admission like that. But then God has made an everlasting covenant, “ordered in every way and sure”. What blessing [p. 262] there is in that! There is restfulness of soul in the covenant; it is an everlasting covenant, not said to be a new one, but everlasting.
ANW “Although he make it not to grow”. How do you regard that?
JT Judgment had to come in. The state of Israel had to be gone into and redemption had to be accomplished before God could make it grow.
Rem Up to a certain point his house collapsed through Absalom and others; but the covenant would go through in Solomon.
JT The process of judgment, the prophetic ministry and the atonement have to be gone through before things grow, before the purposes of God could be accomplished. We are in the time of the growth. Things are growing now.