2 Samuel 21:1-22

Seeking the Lord’s Face: Atonement and Vengeance

This passage is filled with so much typological references of Jesus Christ. What is typology? It is a theological category where we look at individuals, events, and other historical settings which point forward to Christ.

In individuals, we often see this manifest in the three offices of Christ, prophet, priest, and king. Adam was to embody these. Moses and Abraham had elements of these offices. And even David demonstrates these quite clearly.

All of this was to give us small pointers to Jesus Christ, commonly known as the scarlet thread running through the pages of Scripture.

[1] an aspiring king (v. 1a)

[2] an atoning king (vv. 1b-14)

[2] an avenging king (vv. 15-22)

[1] an aspiring king (v. 1a)

Famine = manifestation of God’s judgment (2 Sam 24:13; Deut. 32:24; 2 Kin. 8:1; Ps. 105:16; Is. 14:30; Jer. 11:22; Ezek. 14:21; Rev. 6:8).

David sought the face of the Lord.

To seek the face of the Lord is reference to God’s presence. And as you remember, this was common in David’s experience with the Lord. Often in 1 and 2 Samuel, David uses it when determining whether or not to attack the Philistines, both in 1 Samuel 23.2, 4, 11 and also 2 Samuel 5.19, 23.

Now interesting enough, it is not seen in the English, but the Masorites following the close of the canon of the OT actually placed markers in the text to aid in the reading. The most common effect was the vowel pointing for pronunciation.

Sometimes, they also placed paragraph markers to delineate between major sections. It can also be used for contemplation. We see this right after David sought the face of the Lord. There is a major paragraph break after 20.26.

There is almost an emphasis in verse 1 on David seeking the face of the Lord and this really demonstrates a genuine conviction of going to the Lord in prayer and confirmation. This really looks forward to Christ as the fulfillment of the Davidic kingship in constantly seeking the Lord’s presence.

How frequent did Jesus Himself go away from the people just to enter into fellowship and communion with the Father? Even in the Garden of Gethsemene, he diligently sought the Lord in his providence and sovereignty even knowing what was to come.

From here alone we see the importance as Christians to seek the Lord in all things. It should be no surprise then that David himself writes of seeking and desiring God’s will in the Psalms.

Psalm 25:4–5“Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

Psalm 25:8–9“Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.”

Even the author of Psalm 119 recognizes its importance

Psalm 119:105“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

The Word of God is what guides us in our knowledge and understanding. In contrast to today, the Lord spoke clearly and definitively to David. And often neglected by us, we actually have something better. We have the Word of God incarnate who speaks better than what was given to David.

Hebrews 1:1–2“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.”

Instead of seeking the will of the Lord for guidance on various paths laid before our lives, we should be in fact just seeking the Lord Himself. How often do we actually do this? We hear God’s will preached into our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit. What a wonderful thing that the Spirit Himself ministers to us.

We should not neglect such a great blessing. Nor should we neglect the preached Word of God. Listen to what the 2nd Helvetic Confession says regarding the preached Word,

“Wherefore when this Word of God is now preached in the church by preachers lawfully called, we believe that the very Word of God is preached, and received of the faithful; and that neither any other Word of God is to be feigned, nor to be expected from heaven: and that now the Word itself which is preached is to be regarded, not the minister that preaches; who, although he be evil and a sinner, nevertheless the Word of God abides true and good.”

When you hear the Word preached, when it is done faithfully, you actually here from Christ. Not that the minister himself is Christ nor on the authority of Christ but the Word itself when preached is Christ’s word.

Fellowshipping and communing with God on Sunday has such a greater emphasis when we recognize these truths. When we sing the word, pray the word, preach the word, see the word in the sacraments - visible signs - we enjoy fellowship with God.

If David sought the face of God, and the Son of God was in the presence and face of God the Father, how much more should we seek God in his word?

And when we look at the context of verse 1 itself, we have David seeking the Lord amidst famine. Famine implies judgment as we have looked at. What we do not have is David making treaties with pagan kings to bring supplies and food, rather, we have King David - amidst persecution - coming to the Lord.

Are you willing to go to the Lord in such a situation? To go to the Lord in times of need, physical famine or even spiritual famine, is represented of one who diligently trusts in the Lord.

This is what Christ Himself preached in Matthew 6:25–33. To be concerned about food and clothing when those are inferior to being concerned about God’s love and perseverance that he gives you, is antithetical to seeking the face of the Lord.

Seek the Lord’s face with respect to how the text admonishes us. Not to seek his face literally, nor to seek an idol or image of Christ to come to his presence, but diligently seek him in fellowship and communion.

God gives us far more than we need. As Thomas Brooks writes, “God hath in Himself all power to defend you, all wisdom to direct you, all mercy to pardon you, all grace to enrich you, all righteousness to clothe you, all goodness to supply you, and all happiness to crown you.”

[2] an atoning king (vv. 1b-14)

v. 1b

As David seeks the Lord, the Lord answers. The Lord recognizes the necessity of atonement on behalf of the Gibeonites.

If you remember all the way back in Joshua chapter 9, the Gibeonites were quite crafty after hearing what the Lord had done through Joshua in destroying and purifying the land. The Gibeonites asked for a covenant between them and the nation of Israel after making it appear as though they had traveled a far journey and were without the necessary provisions for life.

The Gibeonites requested to enter into a covenant with the people of Israel. The highlight of the passage is in Joshua 9:14–15“So the men took some of their provisions, but did not ask counsel from the Lord. And Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live, and the leaders of the congregation swore to them.”

Even as the deception is brought to the forefront, and the people of Israel are not happy with the decision of the leaders, Joshua recognizes the severity of breaking such a covenant.

However, fast forward to the reign of Saul who not only disobeyed the covenant fidelity obligated to the Lord but also to the Gibeonites. This sin of Saul is not recorded in Scripture but probably occured sometime around the time when Saul put to death the priests at Nob in 1 Sam 22.6-19.

Oddly enough, even here do we see elements of the Gospel in place. First, there is a recognition that atonement is required for sin. The priest was the one to make atonement on behalf of the people but we see David here as a type of Christ making atonement as Priest and King for the people of Gibeah.

Second, we see judgment and justice on behalf of a just king. Like Christ, David recognizes that justice must be done to heal wounds. Though David heals the temporal wounds of Saul’s horrific act against the Gibeonites, Christ Himself recognizes the judgment and justice rightly deserved for sinners but takes it upon Himself.

Third, we see an extension of mercy by David. The Gibeonites rightly required death for covenantal disobedience. David could have been authorized to forsake the covenant he made with Jonathan to give up Mephibosheth to the Gibeonites. Perhaps it would have made sense politically. But that’s not what he does. Rather, he recognizes the principle of mercy.

Fourth, we see covenantal faithfulness. Not only was David faithful to the covenant his forefathers made with the Gibeonites but also faithful to the mercy he extended toward Mephibosheth as well. Both mercy and covenant in his treatment of Mephibosheth.

Fifth, we see an act of forgiveness. For all the wickedness of Saul, the one who tried to kill David on multiple accounts, David still honors this wicked man in death by bringing his and Jonathan’s remains to be buried with the people.

What is the reaction of the Lord in all of this? Look at the end of verse 14, “God responded to the plea for the land.

Use 1. God heals wounds.

Forgiveness, reconciliation, restitution, overcoming hurts, and so on are deep wounds. All of these are like the wound Frodo himself experiences by being stabbed by the Nazgul, a wound he will carry with him his entire life.

And though we have the scars and permanent stains of hurts, injustice, and wrongs done to us, we have a God who heals wounds. He heals us first of our sin. Secondly, he heals us of our wounds we have faced by reminding us of His goodness, His righteousness, His steadfast love.

Use 2. God atones for sin.

The fullness of love is found in the atonement. 1 John 4:9–10“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Use 3. God encourages forgiveness.

Look at Matthew 18.21-35.

We forgive others because we have been forgiven much.

Use 4. God is faithful in our obedience.

It cannot be expressed enough that obedience and works do not save us. But when God frees us from sin and bondage he delights and blessed our obedience to Him.

[3] an avenging king (vv. 15-22)

Very common in evangelicalism is this mantra that we are to slay our giants in our lives. Rather than recognizing in the text that speaks explicitly of not only David’s commitment to defeat God’s enemies is that of over spiritualizing the actions of David’s mighty men as a response to how we ourselves deal with giants in our lives.

While there is certainly a precedence set forth in Scripture to defeat and mortify sin, and while we can apply these aspect to our own lives, this is not what the text is speaking of. David in the defeat of Goliath was more that a man defeating a giant. It was representative of Christ and the defeat of his enemies and ours

These verses set the stage for David’s song of praise in the next chapter. Once again, war with the Philistines is at David’s doorstep. Just as David went and defeated Goliath, now his might warriors will follow the lead of their king in defeating these four giants.

The first of the four battles recorded in this passage took place during a war “between the Philistines and Israel,” when “David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines” (2 Sam. 21:15).

One of the giants, named Ishbi-benob, came against David with a massive spearhead weighing three hundred shekels of bronze (about 7.5 pounds) and carrying a newly made weapon. Abishai the son of Zeruiah, already known to us as David’s hotheaded nephew, stepped forward to defend David and slew the giant. In the aftermath of this close encounter with death, David’s warriors demanded that he no longer expose himself to such danger: “David’s men swore to him, ‘You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel’ ” (v. 17).

The account of the next three battles is brief. There was another war in which a giant named Saph came forth. This time it was “Sibbecai the Hushathite” who slew the giant. Another war led to a third giant, named in 2 Samuel 21:19 as “Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.” This reference has confused interpreters, since Goliath the Gittite is the giant whom David so famously slew in 1 Samuel 17.

The parallel account in 1 Chronicles 20:5 indicates that the text in 2 Samuel was corrupted sometime during the transmission process. There we find the correcting information that this giant, named Lahmi, was “the brother of Goliath the Gittite.” In both accounts of Samuel and Chronicles, this giant was slain by “Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite” (2 Sam. 21:19).

A fourth giant, slain in another campaign, was “a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number” (v. 20). These extra digits may represent the perverse nature of Satan’s reign. Like the original Goliath, this giant “taunted Israel” until “Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down” (v. 21).

Though we want to be careful not to over spiritualize passages in Scripture, we can still draw important implications from the text which encourage us in our living. If the totality of Scripture points to Christ, then certainly we see Him even here.

Use 1. Christ conquers His and our enemies.

The greatest deathblow to God’s enemies occurred at the Cross. Jesus Himself not only defeated sin and death, as promised in Genesis 3.15, but also took upon the vengeance of God on our behalf.

Just as David was an avenging king for the people of Israel so also is Christ our avenger. We all know what was due to us, as Paul writes in Romans 6:23“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

But this very promises was given through Isaiah 25:8 of the great victory of Christ on the cross, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

Use 2. Christ equips us to continually battle our enemies.

We are still waging war in our flesh. The old man is battling and warring within the new man. Yet we are promised that God will equip us through the Holy Spirit to continue the process of mortification.

We have a greater enemy then giants, we have Satan Himself tempting us and bringing us as low as he can. 1 Peter 5:8–9“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”

As James writes in James 4:7“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Submission to the authority and sovereignty of God gives us the necessary armament to defeat the devil.

Ephesians 6:12–18“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,”

Use 3. Christ encourages by his preserving promises when we fail.

If we are at war, that means that there will be a multitude of battles to fight. Anyone who has read history of the great wars recognize that a war is not won from one battle alone. There are times where retreat and defeat are necessary.

We see this in the character of God Himself. When we are defeated, perhaps it is due to our own sin, as was David from Bathsheba onward. We are told in Hebrews 12 how the Lord through His love He has for His own children disciplines us for our good. And in our defeat, we look to our commander in chief, the Lord Jesus Christ, for the tactical understanding and wisdom on how to combat the enemy next time.

When we need to retreat, that is also okay. Retreating does not mean dropping your weapons of war that God has equipped you with, but falling back to the lines of support to rearm and reequip yourself for battle.

And even though we fail often through our desire to sin over our desire to love God, we are still given irrevocable promises. John 10:27–30“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.””