David's Last Words
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Let Us Stand For the Reading of God’s Word
2 Samuel 23:1-7 “Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; Thus says the man raised up on high, The anointed of the God of Jacob, And the sweet psalmist of Israel: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spoke to me: ‘He who rules over men must be just, Ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.’ “Although my house is not so with God, Yet He has made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things and secure. For this is all my salvation and all my desire; Will He not make it increase? But the sons of rebellion shall all be as thorns thrust away, Because they cannot be taken with hands. But the man who touches them Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear, And they shall be utterly burned with fire in their place.””
As I read this scripture, I wondered if I sat down and wrote out a document that stated my “last word’s” what would people see in my words? Would my word’s display an image that would call there attention to something greater than I was? Would my life’s achievements point people to a person that is greater than I am?
I wonder if we all sat down and wrote out our last word’s and then read them back to ourselves what we would envision that person to be?
In our scripture today we have the last word’s of David. The word’s that reveals the legacy that he left. Within these words are pictures and reminders of moments in David’s life. A life that was his own. A life that he had never imagined would be so remembered. A life that would point people to the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega just by being the person that he was called to be.
I want us to look at these “Last Words” and see how God the Father used David as a person that would be a picture of the coming King Jesus Christ!
And use this example as a way that we can be a picture of the coming King Jesus Christ.
The Portrait of David (v. 1-2)
The Portrait of David (v. 1-2)
As I mentioned these words of David paint a picture or maybe a snapshot of who he was. Undoubtedly this is the portrait that David wanted to be remembered by. As I was growing up I had many school pictures made of me and some of them are not very flattering. Some of them were made when I did not feel good, or I was having a not so good hair day, or just because I didn’t want my picture taken. When I look at those pictures I think, I sure hope that those pictures never get out.
In other words I did not want those pictures to be the ones that people see. Or the ones that people would remember me by.
Most likely you have pictures of yourself that are stuck away in a drawer hidden under a lot of other papers. Because that is not what you want people to see.
David had a lot of things in his life that he was not proud of. So he prepared a document that shared his last words, a legacy, or a testimony of his life. And within this he made it known how God used him.
David was exalted and anointed by the God of Jacob.
David had humble beginnings he was just a simple shepherd tending his father’s sheep. His father was had never achieved nothing great but he was an Israelite from the tribe of Judah.
David being an Israelite from the tribe of Judah pointed toward the David’s being the fulfillment of the predicted king who would be the very founder of Messianic line.
“When you come to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and possess it and dwell in it, and say, ‘I will set a king over me like all the nations that are around me,’ you shall surely set a king over you whom the Lord your God chooses; one from among your brethren you shall set as king over you; you may not set a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.
David was a simple shepherd taken from a humble family and exalted and anointed to be king by the God of Jacob. The same God that exalted Jacob also exalted David. God used Jacob to found the nation of Israel and used David to found the royal family that was to rule God’s people and to give rise to the coming Messiah and Savior of the world, Jesus Christ.
2. David was also a priest who became known as a psalmist, the psalmist that led Israel in worship.
Out of 150 of the psalms David is said to have wrote at least 73. Throughout his service as the anointed king he periodically performed priestly functions. If we look at
Now it was told King David, saying, “The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-Edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with gladness. And so it was, when those bearing the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, that he sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep. Then David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was wearing a linen ephod. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the trumpet.
We can see David sacrificed oxen and fatted sheep and also danced before the Lord. He was leading the nation in worship.
3. David was also a prophet, a man through who the Lord Spoke.
“The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue.
The idea is that the Lord spoke through David in the words that he wrote. And also
“Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,
David was a king, a priest, and a prophet. David was the foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is declared King:
Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews.” ’ ”
Jesus Christ is the perfect priest:
Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Jesus Christ is the Ideal Prophet:
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet.
David’s portrait that he painted with his words was one that foreshadowed Jesus.
Does the portrait of our life point people to the coming of the King of Kings?
Are we a living testimony?
Responsibilities come with being a Christian
Responsibilities come with being a Christian
In our lives we are not ruling over anyone but we represent the one that does rule over the universe. David was a king and had many responsibilities. In scripture it tells us that he had to be just, he had to fear God, he was to bear light and was to bear fruit.
I believe when we look at these responsibilities of David it will become clear to us that we are to bear the same responsibilities.
As a Christian we are to execute justice and serve righteousness. We do not perform acts that bring justice but we are to be just and do what is right. As I said, we are not rulers.
Defend the poor and fatherless; Do justice to the afflicted and needy.
What is just? Defending the poor and fatherless. When we defend it means that we do everything that we can to protect those in need. If that means sharing the gospel, giving a bag of groceries, helping to pay a light bill, etc....