Sermon Tone Analysis

90 Days with Scripture

Week 5: October 26, 2008

2 Samuel 5-7: The King of God’s People

Introduction

1 All the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron and said, "We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns.

And the LORD said to you, 'You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.'

" 3 When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a compact with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel.

4 David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years.

5 In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

(2 Samuel 5)

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20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

21 David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD's people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD.

22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.

But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor."

23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

(2 Samuel 6)

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18 Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said:

"Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

19 And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant.

Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O Sovereign LORD ?

20 "What more can David say to you?

For you know your servant, O Sovereign LORD.

21 For the sake of your word and according to your will, you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

22 "How great you are, O Sovereign LORD!

There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears.

23 And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself, and to make a name for himself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? 24 You have established your people Israel as your very own forever, and you, O LORD, have become their God.

25 "And now, LORD God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house.

Do as you promised, 26 so that your name will be great forever.

Then men will say, 'The LORD Almighty is God over Israel!'

And the house of your servant David will be established before you.

27 "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, you have revealed this to your servant, saying, 'I will build a house for you.'

So your servant has found courage to offer you this prayer.

28 O Sovereign LORD, you are God!

Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised these good things to your servant.

29 Now be pleased to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever in your sight; for you, O Sovereign LORD, have spoken, and with your blessing the house of your servant will be blessed forever."

(2 Samuel 7)

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David’s story sits in a particularly interesting place in Scripture: after the Judges before the prophets.

After the Judges means that he is coming into being at the time when ‘there was no king in Israel and everyone did what was right in his own eyes.’

Before the prophets means that he was a powerful figure before the prophets started to lament the corruption of Israel and her magnificent downfall and predict the coming of a King who would be the King who truly followed in the footsteps of David.

There’s a lot that can be said about the Davidic king.

David is named in the Scripture almost a thousand times.

By way of contrast, Moses was named only around 800 times.

I could also note that David seems to be the reason why the book of Ruth was included in our canon.

David is the culmination of the books of Samuel & Chronicles.

David is the author of most of the Psalms.

David is the standard by which all other kings of Israel would be measured.

We are told that it was David’s kingdom that would stand in perpetuity.

David is no insignificant figure in the history of Christianity.

In fact, in our last canonical book, the Revelation, David is prominently mentioned.

But more importantly, it is the role of David that is of more significant—his role as king of Israel.

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King wasn’t a new idea.

The Lord had anticipated that Israel would want a king.

In Deuteronomy 17, we read:

14 When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, "Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us," 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses.

He must be from among your own brothers.

Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.

16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again."

17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray.

He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites.

19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the LORD his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left.

Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

By the time we arrive at the book of 1 Samuel, following closely on the heals of Judges when ‘there was no king and every one did as he saw fit,’ we should be expecting what would happen:.

6 But when they said, "Give us a king to lead us," this displeased Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.

7 And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king.

8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you. 9 Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

David was the height of a righteous king.

After David, it pretty much went downhill.

There were occasional bright spots, but for the most part the kings of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not walk in the ways of their father David.

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It got so bad that eventually the kingdom split, the people, including the king, were carried into exile.

The prophets would prophesy that at some point David would regain his throne.

Isaiah prophesied:

6 For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 Of the increase of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David's throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the LORD Almighty

will accomplish this.

And also:

5 In love a throne will be established;

in faithfulness a man will sit on it—

one from the house of David—

one who in judging seeks justice

and speeds the cause of righteousness.

But he wasn’t alone in saying these things either.

Other prophets say it as well: Israel was meant to have a king and the king was to be a shepherd, a servant, one who worships God without shame, one who will fight the Lord’s battles and be victorious.

These are the things David did, and was.

And one was to come who would recapture that allegiance to the Lord and follow in the footsteps of David.

And Israel waited and waited and waited for their king.

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Moses established the rules that would govern the King.

David lived those standards and became the standard by which all other kings would be measured.