A Person After God’s Own Heart: Session 12 – The Triumphs of Grace

Notes:

The Triumphs of Grace    See Session Slides Here

  • 2 Sam.22 is a psalm of thanksgiving celebrating David’s victories given to him by the Lord (2 Sam.22:1).
  • ‘Deliver’ is a key word, (see 2 Sam.22:2,18,20,44,49). See 1 Sam.27:1; Psa.34:19.
  • God is his rock; and though he was in a narrow place for many years God brought him into a broad place.
  • God was faithful to David and established him, so that he unified the nation and was established on the throne with the promise of an everlasting dynasty, 2 Sam.22:50-51. David saw God in everything.

‘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’ (2 Sam.23:1):

  • The son of Jesse (humility – 1 Sa.17:58)
  • The man that was raised up on high – exaltation comes from God.
  • The anointed of God (2 Cor.1:21). ‘Never follow a leader until you see the oil on his forehead’ (Tozer).
  • The sweet psalmist of Israel. He wrote approximately 73 of the psalms.

2 Sam.23:2-3. God spoke to him by the Holy Spirit. See 2 Pet.1:21:

  • Divine revelation is the communication by God to man of truth which he could not have otherwise known
  • Inspiration is God’s work to assure that the revelation is transmitted accurately to others in the scriptures (2 Tim.3:16).
  • Whilst revelation takes away the veil of God’s mind, illumination removes the veil from man’s heart.

2 Sam.23:3&5. David failed in many areas, yet God made a covenant with him.

  • 2 Sam.24:1. Success can sometimes be more challenging than seeming unfruitfulness. Only few handle success well. David was off guard and in view of all his victories wanted to know the extent of his power. He numbered Israel as though they were his people.
  • The Lord moved David to number Israel because God was angry with them. He even used Satan (1 Chron.21:1). See 1 Kings 22:20-22. Satan the accuser of the brethren ‘stood up’ in a forensic sense (see Zech.3:1; Rev.12:10; Job; Rom.8:1, 33-34).
  • The Israelites had displeased God by their continuous rebellion against David and especially in choosing Absalom in the place of David. Psa.12:1.
  • David’s choice: ‘Let me not fall into the hands of man’. David had enough of that.
  • An altar and a sacrifice. The appeasement of the wrath of God. This is the true meaning of propitiation. Gen.4:4; Judges 13:23. The offering was consumed by God and the angel sheaths his sword.
  • Oranah and his sons hid before an altar was revealed. What was terrifying to Oranah was not to David.

 

  • What 2 things are David most known for? Bathsheba and numbering the people. Yet out of these 2 things came Messiah and the temple ground. ‘…where sin abounded, grace abounded much more’ (Rom.5:20).
  • David knew that the temple was to be built with gold, silver and precious stones (1 Chron.29:2).
  • Incredible wealth was given by David, the leaders and the people. All gave willingly, see 2 Cor.8:1-5; 9:7.
  • Much fruit may become visible after our death. Our works follow us.
  • Paul applied this to the church. Gold, silver and precious stones stand for the wisdom of His Word. Wood, hay and straw are common and combustible. The Church is built on the wisdom of God not the clever ideas of man. It was built to display the glory of God (1 Chron.22:19), which is the purpose of the church.
  • David had shed much blood. Jesus builds His Church by saving lives, not destroying them.
  • 30,000 Jews cut timber in Lebanon and 150,000 alien labourers cut stones from the hills. Thus Jews and Gentiles worked to build the temple. It was a house for all nations.

‘For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers’ (Acts 13:36). David was a man after God’s own heart. This is God’s testimony of him at the beginning and at the end. When you serve your own generation well you also serve future generations (1 Jn.2:17).