(Continued-Chapter IV-Messiah a Descendant of David)

In the evening of his life David took a retrospective view of his stormy career and was led to give all praise to the Lord for having delivered him from both internal and external foes. The Spirit of God came upon him and inspired him to commit to writing his gratitude and his thanksgiving. The record is preserved in II Samuel 22 and in Psalm 18.*

At the conclusion of his song of praise, the Spirit of God led David to make his final will and testament in the form of a revelation concerning the Messiah (II Sam. 23:1-7). In it he unmistakably differentiated between himself and King Messiah. I can find no better introduction to a study of this great oracle than the following quotation from Keil's Commentary on the Books of Samuel.

"The psalm of thanksgiving, in which David praised the Lord for all the deliverances and benefits that he had experienced throughout the whole of his life, is followed by the prophetic will and testament of the great king, unfolding the importance of his rule in relation to the sacred history of the future. And whilst the psalm may be regarded (ch. xxii.) as a great hallelujah, with which David passed away from the stage of life, these 'last words' contain the divine seal of all that he has sung and prophesied in several psalms concerning the eternal dominion of his seed, on the strength of the divine promise which he received through the prophet Nathan, that his throne should be established for ever (ch. vii.). These words are not merely a lyrical expansion of that promise, but a prophetic declaration uttered by David at the close of his life and by divine inspiration, concerning the true King of the kingdom of God. 'The aged monarch, who was not generally endowed with the gift of prophecy, was moved by the Spirit of God at the close of his life, and beheld a just Ruler in the fear of God, under whose reign blessing and salvation sprang up for the righteous, and all the wicked were overcome. The pledge of this was the eternal covenant which God had concluded with him' (Tholuck: die Propheten und ihre Weissagungen, p. 166)" pp. 484, 485.

B. The Introduction (vss. 1,2)

In verses 1 and 2 "the aged monarch" shows a striking acquaintance with the prophecies of Balaam, which we have already studied. Both the poetical form and the substance of these verses are distinct echoes of those of the former seer. The fact that the inspired writer chose the fourth oracle of Balaam (Num. 24:15-24) as a model and followed it very closely in both particulars is proof that this revelation is a divine explanation of "the star out of Jacob" and "the sceptre out of Israel" and an expansion of the original prediction.

Like Balaam, David declared that his poem was נְאֻם a divine revelation. In the second verse he reiterated this assertion by stating that the Spirit of God spoke through Him and that God's word was upon his tongue. The messages which the Biblical writers delivered were not their own but were those of the Spirit of God. Hence we can rely upon whatever they have said. The test of the centuries has proved that the Bible is infallibly inspired. Archaeology likewise confirms this conclusion.

In the first verse David called himself "the anointed of the God of Jacob." As has already been seen in Hannah's song, the ruler of Israel is, by way of anticipation, called "the anointed" or "Messiah." Here David speaks of himself by this official title. He also speaks of himself as the one who was raised up on high, that is, the one who had been exalted to the position of authority over the nation.

In verses 3-5 the poet describes the vision of the King and His kingdom and at the same time acknowledges his own failure. In transports of ecstasy at the sight of this future Messiah David exclaimed, מוֹשֵׁל בָּאָדָם צַדִּיק מוֹשֵׁל יִרְאַת אֱלֹהִים׃ "One that ruleth over men righteously, That ruleth in the fear of God." These statements may be rendered: "One ruling over men, a righteous one, One ruling in the fear of God." Of course, these utterances are elliptical. They are ejaculations, spontaneous outbursts of enthusiasm over the vision of the future world Ruler. We may fancy the aged king standing in the presence of his courtiers, who are eagerly listening to him as he talks of affairs of state. The Spirit of God comes upon him. In poetical strains he recounts the goodness of God in preserving his life through the storms of the past. With rapt attention they listen to his rehearsal of the soul-thrilling experiences through which he had passed and from which the Lord had graciously delivered him.

But what of the future? This query is stamped upon the countenances of all. Immediately the Spirit presents before the mind of this great ruler, beloved of his people, a vision of Him who will rule the world in righteousness. Overcome by the glory of His person, the righteousness of His administration, and the blessedness of His reign, the prophet-king at first can speak in ejaculatory utterances only. In my imagination I see David leaning forward as if scrutinizing an object or person in the distance and exclaiming, "A ruler over men, a righteous one; A ruler in the fear of God." Expressed in the language of calm deliberation the statement would be: "A ruler over men shall arise, a righteous One: A Ruler who administers affairs in the fear of God."

That this prediction is modeled after the style of Balaam's prophecies is self-evident. Especially are the words under consideration echoes of his oracle concerning the star out of Jacob and the sceptre out of Israel. In Balaam's statement this king is presented as the ruler of Jacob; but in David's forecast He is not only the King of Israel but also the Ruler over men, that is, He is to exercise the sovereignty over the race.

This future Ruler is צַדִּיק righteous, or just. Many of the servants of God are said to have been righteous. For instance, Noah is called צַדִּיק a righteous man. But we see that he was not just in the absolute sense of the term, for on one occasion he became drunk. This interpretation is confirmed by a statement of Ezekiel: "When the righteous צַדִּיק turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity ... in his iniquity that he hath done shall he die" (Ezek. 18:26). Hence when this term is applied to men, it is used in a relative sense. A survey of every occurrence of this word when applied to man shows that it is used with the same limited meaning.

The same term is applied to God. For example, the psalmist declared; "For the Lord is righteous; he loveth righteousness"

(Ps. 11:7). Again, "Gracious is the Lord, and righteous" (Ps. 116:5). Various inspired writers declared the same truth concerning God's character. When applied to the Lord, it is obviously used in the absolute sense.

Since both God and men are said to be צַדִּיק, righteous, the context must decide the meaning of this word, if possible. Can anything be learned from the parallel structure? צַדִּיק in the first line corresponds to יִרְאַת אֱלֹהִים "the fear of God" in the second. But even this latter expression is sometimes used of godly men. Hence the parallel structure is not decisive on this point, though it does emphasize the excellent character of this ruler. As we shall presently see, the following verse compares the excellence of this future administration to the dawn of a cloudless and perfect day. Immediately after making this statement, the prophet confessed that his reign had been a failure in comparison with this new regime. Again, in the following verse David in describing the person and the government of this righteous Ruler exclaimed, "It is all my salvation, and all my desire." The cumulative effect of these facts shows that this one is not simply a righteous man but, though a man (being of the seed of David), He is more than man--He is God in human form.

Jeremiah and Zechariah undoubtedly had this verse in mind when they by the Spirit uttered the following predictions:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely, and this is his name whereby he shall be called: the Lord our righteousness" (Jer. 23:5,6).

"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off; and he shall speak peace unto the nations: and his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth" (Zech. 9:9,10).

The glorious forecast of the reign of Messiah (Isa. 11:2,3) is also a reflection of 2 Samuel 23:3.

"And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears" (Isa. 11:2,3).

In view of all the facts Dr. Keil freely translated this verse: "A ruler over the human race will arise, a just ruler, and will exercise his dominion in the spirit of the fear of God."

Some have tried to connect verse 4 with the preceding one so as to render the meaning, "When one rules justly over men (as I do), it is as when a morning becomes clear." This interpretation entirely overlooks the significance of Nathan's promise recorded in 2 Samuel 7 and "weakens the force of the saying so solemnly introduced as the word of God." In answer to this position I wish to quote Dr. Keil once more.

"The ruler over men whom David sees in spirit is not any one who rules righteously over men; nor is the seed of David to be regarded as a collective expression indicating a merely ideal personality, but, according to the Chaldee rendering, the Messiah himself, the righteous Shoot whom the Lord would raise up to David (Jer. 23:5), and who would execute righteousness and judgment upon earth" (Jer. 33:15).

A glance at verses 3 and 4 shows that they are separate grammatical entities even though the connection is very close. The continuity of thought is evident. The appearance of this Ruler and the blessed effects of His coming are compared to the rising of the sun on a cloudless morning after a season of refreshing showers which have caused vegetation to shoot forth. Though the statement of the fourth verse is elliptical, the omitted part can easily be supplied from the context. As stated by Dr. Keil, the Messiah is not compared to the rising of the sun, but His appearance is likened to the dawning of the morning when the sun rises and floods the earth with its vivifying rays. The phrase, "morning without clouds," is parallel with the preceding one and describes more fully the kind of morning before the prophet's mind. The dawning light dispels the darkness and awakens "the germs of life in the bosom of nature." "The state of things before the coming of the ruler resembles the darkness of night" (Hengstenberg). On the last statement of this verse Dr. Keil has the following comment:

"The rays of the sun, as it rises after a night of rain, strengthen the fresh green of the plants. The rain is therefore a figurative representation of blessing generally (cf. Isa. 44:3), and the green grass which springs up from the earth after the rain is an image of the blessings of the Messianic salvation" (Isa. 44:4; 45:8).

An echo of this verse is heard in Psalm 72: "He (the Messiah) will come down like rain upon the mown grass, As showers that water the earth" (vs. 6).

Verse 5 gives some difficulty to translators. That we may have the facts before our minds, I will quote this verse first in Hebrew and then in three English versions,

כִּי־לֹא־כֵן בֵּיתִי עִם־אֵל כִּי בְרִית עוֹלָם שָׂם לִי עֲרוּכָה בַכֹּל וּשְׁמֻרָה כִּי־כָל־יִשְׁעִי וְכָל־חֵפֶץ כִּי־לֹא יַצְמִיחַ׃

"Truly is not so my house with God? since he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, firm in all, and sure? yea, will he not cause to grow all my salvation, and all my desire?"--Isaac Leeser.

"Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow."--Authorized Version.

"Verily my house is not so with God; Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, Ordered in all things, and sure: For it is all my salvation, and all my desire, Although he maketh it not to grow."--American Revised Version.

The marginal rendering of this last translation is as follows:

"For is not my house so with God? for he hath made with me an everlasting covenant. Ordered in all things, and sure: for all my salvation, and all my desire, will he not make it to grow?"

Thus in these translations there is a medley of opinions. Are all justifiable? Or is but one correct?

Let the reader note that Isaac Leeser's rendering and the marginal note of the Revised Version interpret the first and last sentences as questions, whereas the Authorized translation and the text of the Revised Version render these clauses as simple declarative statements. Why then are they by others translated as questions? Can they be correctly rendered as both types of sentences? It is to be noted that הֲ, the regular sign of interrogation, is wanting from this sentence. Why then can they for a moment be considered as questions? On this point Dr. Keil remarks, "The question is only indicated by the tone (כִּי הֲלֹא = כִּי לֹא ch. 19:23), as is frequently the case, even before clauses commencing with לֹא (e.g. Hos. 11:5; Mal. 2:15: cf. Ewald, No. 324, a), לֹא־כֵן (not so) is explained by the following clause, though the כִּי which follows is not to be taken in the sense of 'that'. Each of the two clauses contains a distinct thought. That of the first is, 'Does not my house stand in such a relation to God, that the righteous ruler will spring from it?' This is then explained in the second: 'for He hath made an everlasting covenant with me.' David calls the promise in ch. vii. 12, sqq., that God would establish his kingdom to his seed for ever, a covenant, because it involved a reciprocal relation,--namely, that the Lord would first of all found for David a permanent house, and then that the seed of David was to build the house of the Lord." The rendering advocated and the reasons assigned therefore are grammatical, though not conclusive.

On the other hand, the rendering of the two clauses in question as declarative statements is also grammatical. In view of the fact that, as a rule, הֲ is used when a question is intended, and that it does not occur in this context, one is inclined to read these clauses in the ordinary way unless other factors indicate differently. Since such corroborative evidence is lacking, one must favor the normal rendering. Hence the text of the Revised Version seems to meet all conditions.

Having ascertained the most likely rendering, let us now attempt to study the verse microscopically. The statement, "Verily my house is not so with God," is a confession of failure. In the clear light of the holiness of this future Sovereign, David saw himself as the Lord sees him and then made this clean-cut confession. Notwithstanding his failures, he realized that he was standing upon the basis of the pure grace of God; hence he with confidence referred to the covenant into which the Lord had entered with him: "Yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant." The king knew that the promises founded upon the favor of God and the everlasting purposes of the Almighty could not be changed by his own failures. It must indeed have been humiliating for David to make this full-breasted confession; nevertheless he, like all of us, could only enjoy the free grace of God to the fullest extent by "coming clean with the Lord."

The everlasting covenant to which the king referred is recorded in 2 Samuel 7, which we have already studied. In the investigation we saw that this promise included the coming of one who would mount the throne forever, because he lives forever. This covenant is "ordered in all things, and sure." Everything that is necessary has been provided by the Lord who knows the end from the beginning. Since there are no events unforeseen by Him that can arise, every need has been graciously and bountifully met. Inasmuch as this covenant is made by the omnipotent God, it is sure.

Understanding the nature, the scope, and the certainty of the covenant, David joyfully and confidently declared, "it is all my salvation, and all my desire." In the previous study of this covenant we saw that all the hopes of Israel were centered in this great King. Therefore David correctly said that this covenant was all his salvation and his desire. He clearly discerned that this future, righteous Ruler who would reign over the human family was also the Deliverer of the faithful. Hence the statement that all his salvation and his desire were bound up in this covenant is but another way of saying that his hope of salvation in the future world would be accomplished by this Ruler of men.

David, like Abraham, was a man of faith. What God said he believed. Although there were no indications in his day that the promise would be fulfilled, his confidence in God was so very strong that he by faith saw the promises as an accomplished reality. Hence he said, "For it is all my salvation, and all my desire, Although he maketh it not to grow." The context shows clearly that, notwithstanding the indications of his day, the promise would spring forth and become fruitful. Hence we might paraphrase the last statement: "Although he maketh it not to grow now, He will surely cause it to develop into most bountiful fruition."

In the last two verses of this oracle the wicked are compared to thorns and briars which are for the burning. In harmony with this thought is that found in Psalm 11:6.

In this oracle David saw one of his descendants ruling the world in righteousness. His government is compared to a cloudless, perfect day. By faith David saw his hopes for eternity centered in this great coming one. At His appearing the wicked will be destroyed. Then peace, the peace for which the world today is yearning, shall be established. "O Lord, hasten that day," is the prayer ascending from trusting hearts throughout the world.

We shall now leave the study of the promises made to David for an investigation of our theme as presented by the prophets, especially those living in the period of Assyrian supremacy.



Footnote:

* The few verbal variations found in these two poems may be fully accounted for upon the basis that the Samuel passage is the original, whereas the one in the book of Psalms is a duplicate, changed by the Spirit to yield itself more readily to liturgical purposes.