2 Samuel 7-8, 1 Corinthians 6
And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. – 1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV
It would be easy to read the story of David and assume that he was somehow a better person than Saul. God must have looked down from heaven, taken stock of the two men and concluded that David was spiritually superior to Saul. After all, God did refer to David as a man after His own heart. But to conclude that David somehow deserved God's selection of him would be in direct contrast to God's law and His nature. David was a sinner just like Saul. Yes, he had a heart for the things of God, but that is not why God chose him. From the opening chapters of the book of Genesis to the final words of the book of Revelation, the Bible is the story of the grace of God – His unmerited favor poured out on the lives of undeserving men, and David was no different. David was far from perfect, as the rest of his life's story will clearly reveal. He was a sinner just like Saul. And yet God had chosen him to be His servant and to lead His people. He would give him victory in battle and anoint his kingship. God would even promise to extend his kingdom long after the day of his death, “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom” (2 Samuel 7:12 ESV). David didn't deserve these blessings. He had not earned God's favor. And David seemed to recognize that fact. “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God. You have spoken also of your servant's house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord God!” (2 Samuel 7:18-19 ESV).
What does this passage reveal about God?
“And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went” (2 Samuel 8:6 ESV). God's hand was on David. He chose to prosper David. He had a plan for David's life that went well beyond David and his ability to live faithfully and obediently to the will of God. God's promise to extend David's kingdom and to “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:13 ESV), project far beyond the life of Solomon to the coming of the Messiah, the true King of Israel. David was part of God's plan to redeem mankind through His own Son, Jesus Christ, who would be a descendant of David. God would use a flawed man like David to accomplish His divine will for mankind. God made it clear to David that this was all His doing. “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth” (2 Samuel 7:8-9 ESV). The story of David is really the story of God, working through the life of David. It gives us a glimpse of how God works behind the scenes, orchestrating the affairs of me to accomplish His divine will and, ultimately, bring about His plan of redemption for mankind.
What does this passage reveal about man?
Being chosen by God could lead anyone to conclude that he was somehow special or deserving of God's love and mercy. But the apostle Paul reminds us that “the unrighteouswill not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9 ESV). Elsewhere he wrote, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 ESV). All men are sinners. All have rebelled against God and deserve His righteous judgment and punishment. Paul makes it clear that “neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 ESV). And before any of his readers can proudly assume that this list does not include them, Paul adds, “And such were some of you” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV). They were just as guilty, just as sinful, and just as deserving of God's penalty of death. But Paul reminds the, “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV). This was God's doing, not their own. God had mercifully, graciously chosen them for redemption, not because they deserved it, but because He lovingly chose to do so. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14 ESV).
How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?
God chose David. He placed His Spirit within him. He gave him victory in battle. He promised to extend his kingdom and prolong his reign, long after he was gone from the earth. God even chose to bring the Savior of the world through the lineage of David, in spite of the fact that David was far from sinless and anything but perfect. Even in these two short chapters in 2 Samuel, we see God blessing David and giving him victory in battle. But we also see David violating the law of God. “And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots” (2 Samuel 8:4 ESV). God had specifically commanded the kings of Israel not to do this. “Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again’” (Deuteronomy 17:16 ESV). Why? Because where it could all lead. “Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!” (Isaiah 31:1 ESV). The kings of Israel were not to mimic the ways of the world or turn to the nations of the world for help. He had a different standard for His kings and His people. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God” (Psalm 20:7 ESV). David's greatness was a result of David's God. His triumphs were the result of God's presence in his life. So rather than trust in chariots, David was to trust in God. The same thing is true of me today. I must continually learn to trust in God. He chose me. He redeemed me. He graciously provides me with His presence and power. Not because I deserve it, but simply because He chose to call me His own, so that He might accomplish His will through me.
Father, like David, I was undeserving of Your selection of me. I had done nothing to deserve Your choice of me as the beneficiary of Your love, grace and mercy. I was a sinner just like everyone else. Never let me forget that fact. I stand before You, not because I earned that right, but because You graciously, lovingly redeemed me and gave me life when I was dead, hopeless and helpless. Amen