2 Samuel 20 - 22

2 Samuel — Steve Gregg

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2 Samuel 23 - 24

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2 Samuel 20 - 22

2 SamuelSteve Gregg

In 2 Samuel 20-22, the northern tribes of Israel return to their tents out of concern for David's defilement, but Joab successfully leads them back. However, Joab's fear of Amasa results in his death, and Joab is reinstated as the commanding general. David brings Abiathar the priest back into his council, and they go on to discuss the giants of the Philistines and the miraculous ways in which God has delivered them. David acknowledges his own sin with Bathsheba but emphasizes the importance of following God's statutes. Lastly, the speaker sheds light on the significance of crediting God for His miraculous interventions in one's life.

Transcript

Alright, we turn now to the 20th chapter of 2 Samuel. David is now returned to the throne after the death of Absalom, but things are not all that good. There's conflict between the tribe of Judah and the northern tribes, each one rather hypocritically professing their superior loyalty to David, although they had both been in the rebellion against him only the day before.

Shimei, who had cursed David, has now been given clemency, and yet he's still a man who's not to be trusted. And there are other issues. There happened to be there a rebel, whose name was Sheba, the son of Bitri, a Benjamite, and he blew a trumpet and said, we have no part in David, nor do we have inheritance in the son of Jesse.

Every man to his tents, O Israel. Now, this is reported as if it occurred in connection with this argument between Judah and the northern tribes, because they are each claiming that they had more claim to David. Judah, because David was a closer relative of theirs, being of himself that tribe, and the others saying, well, we have ten parts in the king because there are ten of us tribes.

And the men of Judah were arguing more fiercely than the men of Israel, and apparently this fellow, Sheba, decided that the nation is not going to be able to unite under David again. There's too much hostility, too much rivalry between these two factions. And so he says, okay, you northern tribes, Israel, let's go back to our tents.

We don't have any part, really, in David. And he may be sort of saying that because Judah is claiming to have a greater claim on David than the northern tribes. He might say, okay, then we don't have a claim in him.

If Judah has the claim, then we don't. He's not our king. He's not of our tribe.

So we're not going to be loyal to him. And so it would appear that this was the beginning of another rebellion. So every man of Israel deserted David and followed Sheba, the son of Bitri.

But the men of Judah, from the Jordan as far as Jerusalem, remained loyal to their king. Now David came to his house at Jerusalem, and the king took ten women, his concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them in seclusion and supported them, but did not go into them. So they were shut up to the day of their death, living in widowhood.

Because, of course, they had been defiled. David would not sleep with the same women his son had slept with. Then the king said to Amasa, assemble the men of Judah for me within three days, and be present here yourself.

So Amasa went to assemble the men of Judah, but he delayed longer than the set time which David had appointed him. Now Amasa, of course, was the head of Absalom's armies against David. And David had, with a rather rash decree, replaced Joab as the commander of the armies with Amasa.

But it may be that the people of Judah were more loyal to Joab, and so Amasa had a harder time, or wasn't as efficient, wasn't as experienced as Joab, and for whatever reason, it was taking too long for him to get the armies together. Because he was going to have to go put down this rebellion of victory up in the north, and he needed to do it before the northern tribes could get a commander that could really organize them. And so it says that he delayed longer, Amasa delayed longer than the time which David had appointed him.

And David said to Abishai, who was of course Joab's brother, Now Sheba, the son of Bitre, will do us more harm than Absalom. Take your lord's servants and pursue him, lest he find for himself fortified cities and escape us. Now he doesn't put Joab back in the position when Amasa fails, he puts Joab's brother in.

He's angry at Joab, because Joab killed Absalom. And so to spite Joab, even though Joab is a much more efficient military leader than Amasa, he won't put him in that position. He'll put Abishai, his brother, there first.

And he's saying we need to put down Bitre before he finds a fortified place to hole up where we will not be able to defeat him. So we need to hurry. So Joab's men, with the Cherethites and the Pelethites and all the mighty men, went out after him.

Now these were Joab's men, but it would appear that it was Abishai that was leading them. And they went out of Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, the son of Bitre. When they were at the large stone, which is in Gibeon, Amasa came before them.

Now Joab was dressed in battle armor. Apparently Joab was among the troops. And it may be that Abishai just deferred to Joab.

And so Joab just kind of took the lead anyway. It's hard to say. Joab was definitely there.

And he was dressed for the battle. And on it was a belt with a sword fastened in its sheath at his hips. And as he was going forward, it fell out, as if by accident.

Then Joab said to Amasa, are you in health, my brother? And Joab took Amasa by the beard with his right hand to kiss him. But Amasa did not notice the sword that was in Joab's hand. Apparently Joab walked in such a way as to make his sword accidentally fall out on the ground.

I'm not sure how that would happen. He'd have to bend over rather far for it to slide out of the sheath on the ground. But that would give him an excuse for having it in his hand.

He had to pick it up off the ground. And it was not something that Amasa was paying attention to, apparently. And so he struck him with it in the stomach.

And his entrails poured out on the ground. And he did not strike him again. Thus he died.

So Joab had killed Abner, who was threatening his position. Now he's killed Amasa, who has also taken his place. Joab didn't want to be removed from power.

And Joab and Abishai, his brother, pursued Sheba, the son of Bitri. Meanwhile, one of Joab's men stood near Amasa and said, Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, let him follow Joab. See, Amasa had been gathering armies but had not really finished the job.

So there were some people with Amasa. And when he was dead, one of Joab's men said, All you people who are with Amasa, follow Joab now. And so now Joab was in power.

Joab knew that he would not probably suffer anything at the hands of David. David was not in the mood to be executing people. And in fact, if anything, he'd be afraid of Joab because Joab would be commanding the armies again.

So the fact that Joab had killed David's appointed leader, Amasa, and taken his place, was something Joab was pretty sure he'd be able to get away with. Which he did, for the time being. But Amasa wallowed in his blood in the middle of the highway.

And when the man saw that all the people stood still, he moved Amasa from the highway to the field and threw a garment over him. And when he saw that everyone who came upon him halted, when he was removed from the highway, all the people went on after Joab to pursue Sheba, the son of Bitri. And he went through all the tribes of Israel, to Abel and Beth, Maika, and all the Berites.

So they were gathered together and also went after Sheba. So they were collecting more troops as they went. Apparently, even gathering some of the people of the northern tribes to join them.

So that the national army was being gathered again, not just of the tribe of Judah, but of others from these other tribes in the north, that were now joining him. And so they all went together after Sheba. Then they came and besieged him at Abel of Beth Maika, and they cast up a siege mound against the city, and it stood by the rampart.

And all the people who were with Joab battered the wall to throw it down. Then a wise woman cried out from the city, Hear, hear! Please say to Joab, come nearby, that I may speak with you. And when he had come near to her, the woman said, Are you Joab? He answered, I am.

Then she said to him, Hear the words of your maid servant. And he answered, I'm listening. Then she spoke, saying, They used to talk in former times, saying, They shall surely ask counsel at Abel.

And so they would end disputes. In other words, the city was known to be a place where they had wise counselors, and it had that reputation. She said, I am among the peaceable and faithful in Israel.

You seek to destroy a city and a mother in Israel. Why would you swallow up the inheritance of the Lord? And Joab answered and said, Far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy. That is not so.

But a man from the mountains of Ephraim, Sheba the son of Bitri by name, has raised his hand against the king, against David. Deliver him only, and I will depart from the city. And the woman said to Joab, Watch, his head will be thrown to you over the wall.

Then the woman in her wisdom went to all the people and persuaded them to cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bitri. Now he was taking refuge among them, and they realized that by having him there, they were having all the armies of Israel about ready to pull their city down and destroy them. So they thought, well, it's better for us to surrender our guy here.

He wasn't really their guy. He had gone there and he was seeking refuge among them. And so they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bitri, threw it out to Joab.

Then he blew a trumpet and they withdrew from the city, every man to his tent. So Joab returned to the king at Jerusalem. And Joab was over all the army of Israel.

Even though the king had deposed him, he stayed there anyway, because he wanted to. Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherithites and the Pelethites. Adoram was in charge of the revenue.

Jehoshaphat the son of Eliud was the recorder. Sheba the scribe. David and Abiathar were the priests.

And Ira the Jerite was the chief minister under David. Now, there's not really many stories left. There's only one real story left in terms of a chronological sequence of things.

But there are some things that belong to an appendix. In fact, this itself may begin the appendix. This summary statement of David's cabinet and his administration at the end of chapter 20 may be a way of saying, thus summarizes and ends the account of David's reign.

But there are some scattered pieces of things probably that happened earlier that are put in as an appendix, sort of like the book of Judges does that. The book of Judges has those five chapters at the end, which are not necessarily in chronological order. The book has been devoted to a certain way of telling the story of the judges.

And when it reaches the end of that telling of the story, it has certain scraps of things that happened earlier that really ought to be included. And that is probably what we have from chapter 21 through chapter 24 here. It's likely that what we're about to read happened at an earlier time in David's life.

And so it is with some of the other things in these chapters. That we have been following a chronological sequence of things from David's beginning of his reign, his conquests, then his sin, and then the troubles he's had. And that brings us back down to the end.

But then there were a few other things that are worth mentioning that happened during those times that need to be brought in at this point. At least that's how I would understand these last chapters. Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year.

And David inquired of the Lord, and the Lord answered, It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites. Now this may have happened early in David's reign. After Saul died, God may have at this time brought this famine on Israel because of him having violated the covenant with the Gibeonites.

You remember of course they were the ones that Joshua had been deceived by. The Gibeonites were the ones who had said they came from a far country and wanted to enter into a covenant with Joshua when Joshua in fact was forbidden to make any covenant with the Canaanites. Well these were Canaanites, but they deceived Joshua into thinking they were not.

And he didn't consult the Lord, and therefore he made a covenant with them and promised not to hurt them. Therefore they were like part of Israel, and they were under the protection of Israel. Apparently Saul, as king at some point unrecorded previously, had in his zeal to clear the Canaanites out of the land, had attacked the Gibeonites and tried to exterminate them.

Which was of course a violation of the covenant and was something God was going to hold Israel responsible for until it was rectified. And so the Lord answered, the reason this famine has come is because of Saul having done this bloodthirsty deed of killing Gibeonites. So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them.

Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites. The children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you, and with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the Lord? So this was an unsettled grudge.

There was a blood feud here, and God was on the side of the Gibeonites. And so David needed to get their blessing and have them say, Okay, the score is settled now, and we have no more grudge against you. He says, What do I have to do for that? And the Gibeonites said to him, We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us.

And he said, Whatever you say, that I will do for you. So they answered the king, As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord chose. And the king said, I will give them.

But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the Lord's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul. So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, a different Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michael. Now this is not Michael, this should be Mirab, as we pointed out earlier in our lectures.

There's apparently a scribal mistake here, because Michael had no children all the days of her life, and this person, whose name is here, is a daughter of Saul, but she brought up children for Adriel, the son of Barzillai, the Maholothite, and we know from elsewhere that that was the husband of Mirab, the older daughter of Saul. So apparently Mirab's five sons, and a couple of sons of Rizpah, a concubine, were taken. And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the Lord.

So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of the harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of the barley harvest. Now, this seems rather barbarian to us, to take seven innocent people and deliver them over to be executed, and it's hard to say how this is really justifiable, except that there was indeed a need to have the Gibeonites placated, so that they would not have any grudge against Israel, and that God would then not have anything that he'd have to do to vindicate them. They, not God, decided what they would demand.

God didn't say, take seven sons of Saul, the Gibeonites said that. And David had sworn that he would do whatever they said. The sons of Saul, by the way, as we know, were fortunate to be alive this long anyway, because when David became king, in any ordinary kingdom, they would have been executed in the purge of the former administration.

And so they had made it because David had been gracious and had not done any such things to them. But they suffered for their father's sin. This is not something that should happen.

The law of Moses said that a son will not be put to death for his father's sins. But David didn't put him to death. He had sworn that he'd do whatever, and all he did was turn them over.

He did not protect them, and the Gibeonites then hanged them. And this is an ugly chapter here. Now Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until late rains poured on them from heaven.

And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. And David was told that Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, what she had done. And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-Gilead who had stolen them from the secret of Beth-shan where the Philistines had hung them up after the Philistines had struck down Saul and Gilboa.

So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged, and they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin and Zillah in the tomb of Kish his father. So they performed all that the king commanded, and after that God heeded the prayer for the land. So the mother of a couple of these guys who were hanged just went and guarded their bodies to keep them from being eaten by vultures.

Although apparently it was over a prolonged period of time, she didn't have the liberty to take their bodies down because they were hanged by, as it were, with the permission of the king. She couldn't interfere with that. But when David heard about this mother's mourning over her sons, he decided to give them a decent burial and figured, well, maybe it's time to give Saul and Jonathan a burial in their proper place too.

So he took all the family members whose bones were available and apparently buried them all in the tomb of Kish, which was Saul's father. And then the plague ended. Now we have this bit of history about the giants, and this is not in chronological sequence.

In fact, this Philistine giants being defeated is something that happened early in David's reign. And we've been told in earlier chapters about David's fight and subduing the Philistines. We had not been given special attention to the giants of the Philistines, although they apparently were killed at that time too.

And now we're going to have a special appendix about these special challenges that David and his men faced in the giants and how they defeated them. When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, and this would not be near the end of David's reign, so this is not chronological order, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines. And David grew faint.

And Ishbi-Benab, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was 300 shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his aid and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, you shall not go out anymore with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.

David himself was considered to be the lamp of Israel. This is a phrase that's used later on also with reference to David's offspring. The lamp of Israel, I'm not sure why that particular image is used, but it's referring to the dynasty of David.

And they didn't want to see that lamp put out so they wouldn't let him go to battle anymore, because apparently it was a very close call. Though David as a boy had killed Goliath, he was not really Superman. He could be killed.

He almost was killed by another giant, but his cousin Abishai rescued him. Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibachai, the Hushethite, killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant.

Again there was a battle in Gob with the Philistines where Elhanan, the son of Jeor Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed the brother of Goliath, the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. Now there's a bit of a textual issue in this particular verse because as you can see the words the brother of before the word Goliath are in italics, they're not in the Hebrew. And therefore the way it actually reads in the Hebrew is Elhanan, the son of Jeor Oregim, the Bethlehemite, killed Goliath, the Gittite.

But of course we know that the man who killed Goliath was David. There are some who've suggested Elhanan might have been another name for David. After all, David means beloved.

And some thought that Elhanan may have been David's given name at birth and that his men gave him the nickname of beloved, that he was their beloved king and their beloved leader. However, there's no reason to believe that because in Chronicles in the parallel, the Hebrew itself says Elhanan killed the brother of Goliath, he didn't kill Goliath. So although the words are missing here in the Hebrew text, it's simply a textual problem.

They are present in 1 Chronicles in the parallel. And obviously they were in this text originally too but have somehow fallen out in the process of transmission. Yet again there was a battle in Gath where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, 24 in number, count them, and he also was born to the giant.

So when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, killed him. These four were born to the giant in Gath and fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants. So these were all apparently brothers of Goliath.

And so this one giant had a lot of sons and they were all killed by David or his servants. Okay, chapter 22. Then David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord had delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

This is essentially Psalm 18. And it goes, The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, the God of my strength, in him I will trust, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior. You save me from violence.

I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be saved from my enemies. When the waves of death encompass me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me. The snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God.

He heard my voice from his temple and my cry entered his ears. Then the earth shook and trembled. The foundations of heaven moved and shook because he was angry.

Smoke went up from his nostrils and devouring fire from his mouth. Coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also and came down with darkness under his feet.

He rode upon a cherub and flew, and he was seen upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness canopies about him, dark waters and thick clouds from the skies. From the brightness before him coals of fire were kindled.

The Lord thundered from heaven and the Most High uttered his voice. He sent out arrows and scattered them, lightning bolts, and he vanquished them. Then the channels of the sea were seen.

The foundations of the world were uncovered at the rebuke of the Lord at the breath of his nostrils." Now, obviously as you read this you think, Huh? When did this happen? When did lightning bolts go out and kill David's enemies? When did devouring fire go out of God's mouth? When did the foundations of the earth shake and the foundations of the earth be uncovered and the sea part and so forth? These are all what we call apocalyptic images. And it's a good example of this kind of thing. David is, of course, really just celebrating his overall victories that God has given him.

He's talking about how he was in trouble, he was afraid, death threatened him. On many occasions. He's not just talking about one occasion here.

He's talking about when Saul pursued him. He's talking about when Ishbi-Benab, the giant, almost killed him. He's talking about many times that his life was in danger.

And he's cried out to God. He's just celebrating the general protection of God and victory that God has given him. And he's telling it in terms that are definitely what we call exaggerated because he talks as if the whole world shook.

And smoke was seen from God's nostrils and so forth. And that God came riding on a cherub. This is just the way that the prophets and the psalmists sometimes talk when they're talking about God's intervention.

It's given as if it's, you know, cataclysmic. When in fact it's really just military victory. Now that doesn't mean that God wasn't doing some supernatural things during the victory.

We know of times when God would send thunder and lightning to assist Israel in their battles. I don't know if there's any cases where this happened in David's life. But even though that would literally happen at times, it's not necessary to assume that David is describing literal phenomena here any more than, say, in the book of Revelation when you read about lightning bolts and earthquakes and all those kinds of things.

It's not necessary to take them as literal phenomena. I mean, you have to be aware of the way that the poets and the prophets wrote. It's a language that's called apocalyptic in its nature.

Verse 17, He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. Again, David was not literally underwater at any given time and rescued. It's figurative.

It's like he was immersed, overwhelmed by troubles and he was pulled out of the waters by God. He delivered me from the strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support.

He also brought me out into a broad place. He delivered me because He delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness.

According to the cleanness of my hands, He has recompensed me. Now, there's a good chance that this psalm was written early in David's life when he could speak this way. After he had sinned with Bathsheba, his troubles, of course, were of his own making, of his own doing.

He saw them as a result of his sin. And even though God did deliver him after that from Absalom, I don't think David would say, God delivered me because of my righteousness. I don't think he'd have that confidence that he was the good guy and his enemies were the bad guys after that sin.

So, this probably was written at an earlier time in his life when he literally was the good guy. He was the innocent party. He says, it was because of my righteousness that God delivered me.

According to the cleanness of my hands, He has recompensed me. For I've kept the ways of the Lord. I have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His judgments were before me. And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. So, he could hardly say that after he had sinned with Bathsheba and Uriah.

I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore, the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyes. Now, of course, he was cleansed.

He was forgiven. But I don't think his conscience would ever allow him to talk this way about his innocence, how he'd never violated God's laws and so forth. When we see how demoralized he was after that, he's got a lot of confidence that he was, in all respects, the good guy here, and that's why God delivered him.

With the merciful you will show yourself merciful. With the blameless man, you will show yourself blameless. With the pure, you will show yourself pure.

And with the devious, you will show yourself shrewd. Now, this is no doubt referring to how God will actually respond to people according to their own actions. Jesus said, Blessed are the merciful, they shall obtain mercy.

And he says, With the merciful God will show himself merciful. But this idea of God showing himself that way can be seen another way, and that is how people perceive God. Merciful people are likely to perceive God as merciful.

He'll show that side to them. They'll see that side of him more easily because they have a right heart. A blameless person will see that God is blameless.

A pure person will see that God is pure. He is, and he will behave in that way toward them. But it's also the case that if a person is wicked, they will see God as wicked, even though he's not.

People tend to see God through whatever lens their own character and their own heart allows them to see. And a person who is pure will see all things pure in God. And so people who criticize God and think that God's unjust, they're often reading through a lens that probably is based on their own injustice that they're reading into him, because God is never unjust.

For you are my lamp, O Lord. The Lord shall enlighten my darkness. For by you I can run against a troop.

By my God I can leap over a wall. As for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven.

He is a shield to all who trust in him. For who is God except the Lord? And who is a rock except our God? God is my strength and power. And he makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. And he sets me on my high places. He teaches my hands to make war so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Obviously, exaggerated language. That he can run on the hilltops like a deer can. And that he's so strong that he can bend a bronze bow.

They don't make bows out of bronze because they'd be useless. Bronze is too rigid. You need something more pliable.

But if there was a bow made of bronze, I could bend it. My arms are that strong. You have also given me the shield of your salvation.

And your gentleness has made me great. Apparently meaning that God, because God is compassionate and gentle, that he has made David great. That that's an exhibition of that side of God's character.

You enlarged my path under me so my feet did not slip. I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them. Neither did I turn back again until they were destroyed.

And I have destroyed them and wounded them so that they could not rise. They have fallen under my feet. Again, this would not be true of some of his enemies like Shimei that he did not destroy.

Or even Absalom who he would not have destroyed. So this is again an earlier time in his life. For you have armed me with the strength for battle.

You have subdued under me those who rose against me. You have also given me the necks of my enemies so that I destroyed those who hated me. They looked, but there was none to save them.

Even to the Lord, but he did not answer them. Then I beat them as fine as the dust of the earth. I trod them like dirt in the streets and I spread them out.

You have also delivered me from the strivings of my people. You have kept me as the head of the nations. A people whom I have not known shall serve me.

The foreigners shall submit to me. As soon as they hear, they will obey me. The foreigners fade away and become frightened from their hideouts.

The Lord lives. Blessed be my rock and let the God be exalted. The rock of my salvation.

It is God who avenges me, who subdues the people under me, who delivers me from my enemies. You also lift me above those who rise against me. You have delivered me from the violent man.

Therefore, I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the Gentiles and sing praise to your name. He is the tower of salvation to his king and shows mercy to his anointed, to David and his descendants forevermore. So, there's a lot of what sounds boastful in this psalm.

Boy, I beat all my enemies up and I'm stronger than anybody and I can leap over walls and I'm, you know, stronger than a locomotive and so forth. And yet, he makes it very clear. This is how God has made me.

God has made me strong enough to do these things. I have accomplished great things. And he had every right to boast such things in a way, since he's boasting in God, not in his own power.

I mean, he could easily say that. Samson could have said, you know, God has made me stronger than a thousand Philistines. He'd be right.

David was a man who accomplished things that no one had accomplished in Israel previously or in many other countries, in that he had risen from obscurity and become the ruler over an empire. And his enemies were subdued under him and they paid tribute to him and they came groveling to him and he seemed to be invulnerable in battle. But only because of God.

He came near to dying more than once, but God delivered him and that's what he's celebrating. He's giving God the credit for it, but he's saying what God has done has been as miraculous as... I mean, I can look back on what God has done for me and see the hand of God is as much as if there had been an earthquake or as if he had sent lightning down on my enemies, as if he'd come on a chariot with smoke out of his nostrils and fire coming out of his fists. You know, these kinds of things.

God didn't really literally do this, but he's basically saying that God's deliverance to me was as much the work of God as if it had been literally these supernatural things that he describes figuratively. And so this must have been written at probably the highest point of his glory in Israel. He probably wrote that when he had conquered all his enemies and he was still righteous.

He had not yet fallen in sin because he's quite sure that it's because he has obeyed God completely and been righteous in God's sight that all these good things happened to him. Once again, as I say, after he was brought low through his own sin and through his repentance of it, I believe that at that point he was much less likely to talk that way. Well, we have some time, but I don't think we have the time to go into the next chapter, so I think we're going to end this session early and leave only a couple chapters for us to cover the next time.

So we'll end there. .