David's Song of Deliverance

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(2 Samuel 8:15) And David reigned over all Israel, and David executed judgment and justice to all his people.

David now reigned over all of Israel.  The past few posts named David's mightiest warriors as he was their commander-in-chief.  Here begins a description of his officials.  He was a just ruler.

(16) And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud was recorder;

Joab, the son of David's sister Zeruiah, was the general over David's army of mighty men.  Jehoshaphat was the recorder, the one who kept the minutes, so to speak, the chronicler of events.

(17) And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Seraiah was the scribe;

Zadok and Ahimelech were the priests, and Seraiah was the scribe, akin to the secretary of state.

(18) And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over both the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and David's sons were chief rulers.

The historian Josephus wrote that the Cherethites and the Pelethites were the king's bodyguards.  Indeed 1 Chronicles 11:25, in the list of David's mightiest men, named Benaiah as head of David's guard.  David's sons, as princes, were the chief ministers and managers of the king's court.

(1 Chronicles 18:14) So David reigned over all Israel and executed judgment and justice among all his people. (15) And Joab the son of Zeruiah was over the host; and Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, recorder. (16) And Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were the priests; and Shavsha was scribe; (17) And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites; and the sons of David were chief about the king.

1 Chronicles 18 recorded the same officials, except that here the priest was called Abimelech instead of Ahimelech, and the scribe was called Shavsha instead of Seraiah. 

(2 Samuel 22:1) And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song in the day the Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies and out of the hand of Saul.

According to Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, this song "belongs to the early part of David’s reign when he was recently established upon the throne of all Israel, and when his final triumph over the house of Saul, and over the pagan nations, Philistines, Moabites, Syrians, Ammonites, and Edomites, was still fresh."

(2) And he said, "The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer."

David declared that the Lord was his rock, his foundation, his sturdy support.  He was his fortress, his defense, and his deliverer, as He had delivered him from all his enemies and brought him to the throne.

(3) "The God of my rock, in Him I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my high tower and my refuge, my Savior, You save me from violence."

David found further words to say the same thing.  The Lord God was the foundation and support for his stand, and he would put all his trust in Him.  He was his defense as a shield and as the horn of a horned beast might save him.  He was his high tower, his fortress, defense, and refuge, but high above the reach of his enemies.  The Lord was his Savior who saved him from his enemies and all violence.

(4) "I will call on the Lord, worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies."

Just because of who He is, the perfect, holy, just, gracious, loving, and merciful God of the universe, He was to be praised.  David knew that he just needed to call on Him, and he would be saved from his enemies.

(5) "When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid, (6) The sorrows of hell compassed me about, the snares of death prevented me, (7) In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God, and He did hear my voice out of His temple and my cry to His ears."

David spoke of times when ungodly men and deadly situations came upon him like a flood.  The original word that was translated as "sorrows" was "chebel" and literally meant "a rope or a noose" which by implication could mean "sorrows."  Just as the snares of death confronted David, so did the snares of hell seek to pull him in.  When all those things happened, David cried out to the Lord, and He heard him from His temple, His dwelling place in heaven.

(8) "Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook because He was angry."

Then the wrath of the Lord was kindled, and He rose up like an earthquake that shook the earth and the very foundations of heaven.

(9) "There went up a smoke out of His nostrils and fire out of His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it."

Expressing the Lord's anger as a devouring fire denoted just how fierce it was.

(10) "He bowed the heavens also and came down, and darkness under His feet."

The Lord seemed to bend the heavens toward the earth, and He descended in the dark clouds of a storm.

(11) "And He rode upon a cherub and did fly, and He was seen upon the wings of the wind."

I believe the sense is that the Lord used His angels to bring the wind and the storm.

(12) "And He made darkness pavilions round about Him, dark waters, thick clouds of the skies."

The Lord was covered in darkness, dark clouds and fog, as He cannot be seen by the naked eye, but He is ever present.

(13) "Through the brightness before Him were coals of fire kindled."

The brightness before Him even though He was in dark clouds might refer to lightning darting out from Him.

(14) "The Lord thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice."

It reasonably follows that the Lord's voice in thunder followed the lightning.

(15) "And He sent out arrows and scattered them, lightning, and He discomfited them."

The Lord sent out lightning as arrows and confused and scattered His enemies.

(16) "And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the Lord, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils."

The sense is that the hidden and covered things were uncovered and revealed at the anger and rebuke of the Lord.

(17) "He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters; (18) He delivered me from my strong enemy, from them who hated me, for they were too strong for me."

The Lord plucked David out of the floods of ungodly men and snares of death all around.  He delivered him from his enemies for they were too strong for David to save himself.

(19) "They prevented me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my stay."

David's enemies confronted him in what would appear to be the day of his destruction, but the Lord was his support.

(20) "He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me because He delighted in me."

The Lord brought David out of his narrow straits and difficulties into a broad state of freedom and comfort.  He had delivered him because it delighted Him to do so, not because of anything David had done to deserve it.

(21) "The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands has He recompensed me."

David appears to say that it was because of his own righteousness and good behavior that the Lord had rescued him.  I suppose it could be David's way of saying that he had strived to follow God's leading, and he had done no wrong to his fellow men who were trying to kill him undeservedly, and he felt the Lord had blessed and delivered him.  And it is true that God saw him as a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22).

(22) "For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not wickedly departed from my God. (23) For all His judgments were before me, and His statutes, I did not depart from them. (24) I was also upright before Him and have kept myself from my iniquity. (25) Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in His eyesight."

David had strived to follow the ways of his Lord; he did not depart from His commandments.  He felt he was upright before the Lord and had kept himself from iniquity.  And I suppose in the Old Testament, before Jesus, that was the best that people could do to be seen as righteous before God.  Indeed, the Lord had seen fit to deliver David from his enemies.

(26) "With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful, with the upright man You will show Yourself upright. (27) With the pure You will show Yourself pure, and with the froward You will show Yourself unsavory."

The Lord metes out to people the same measure which they mete out to others (Luke 6:38).  Therefore, He would be merciful, upright, and pure to those who were merciful, upright, and true to others.  However, He would be contrary to those who were contrary to Him.

(28) "And the afflicted people You will save, but Your eyes are upon the haughty You may bring down."

The Lord will save the poor and afflicted, but He hates the proud and haughty (Proverbs 6:16-17, 16:5), and He will bring them down.

(29) "For You are my lamp, O Lord, and the Lord will lighten my darkness."

The Lord was David's light; He would shine the light of truth and righteousness and light his paths.  The Lord would bring him out of the darkness with His light.

(30) "For by You I have run through a troop; by my God have I leaped over a wall."

David's meaning was that he had been able to break through the armed troops of his enemies and to scale the walls of their strongest cities because God had led and enabled him.

(31) "God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tried; He is a buckler to all those who trust in Him."

God's way is perfect, and His word has been tried and proven.  No other book in history has been challenged and picked apart as much as the Bible, and yet it still stands true and proven.  The Lord is a shield and a protector to all those people who trust in Him and His word.

(32) "For who is God, save the Lord? And who is a rock, save our God?"

David asked the rhetorical question of who the one true God could possibly be, except for Jehovah, the Self-existent eternal Lord.  There is no one else who could be that steadfast defense and protection, that rock.

(33) "God my strength and power, and He makes my way perfect."

It was only through God that David had his strength and power, and it was God who led him in His perfect way and gave David success.

(34) "He makes my feet like hinds' feet and sets me upon my high places."

The Lord made David's feet as light and swift as the feet of a deer to set him on high places of refuge and safety.

(35) "He teaches my hands to war so that a bow of steel is broken by my arms."

David acknowledged that it was the Lord who gave him the skill and the strength to succeed in his battles.

(36) "You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your gentleness has made me great."

The Lord had saved David, and he could have become proud and haughty, those things the Lord hated.  However, the Lord's loving and merciful ways had taught David humility and made him a great king.

(37) "You have enlarged my steps under me so that my feet did not slip."

David had been before straitened and hindered in his goings, but now that the Lord had removed the obstacles in his way, he could walk freely and not stumble.

(38) "I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them and did not turn back until I had consumed them. (39) And I have consumed them and wounded them that they could not arise; yea, they are fallen under my feet."

David had been able to pursue his enemies and destroy them.  He had been given the strength to not turn back, but to persevere, until he finished them, killing them or wounding them so that they would not be able to rise up again.

(40) "For You have girded me with strength to battle; those who rose up against me You have subdued under me."

David gave all the credit to the Lord as He was the one who gave David the strength to battle his enemies.  It was the Lord who had subdued his enemies under his feet.

(41) "You have also given me the necks of my enemies that I might destroy them who hate me."

The Lord had given David the necks of his enemies that he might destroy them, meaning that he might break their necks and kill them, or in other cases, he might put a yoke upon their necks to make them tributaries.

(42) "They looked, but none to save, to the Lord, but He did not answer them."

David's enemies looked around them for someone to save them, probably crying out to their gods who could not save them.  They even cried out to the one true God, but He would not answer them.

(43) "Then I beat them as small as the dust of the earth; I stamped them as the mire of the street and spread them abroad."

David had beaten his enemies to pieces and scattered them so that they were no more.

(44) "You also have delivered me from the strivings of my people; You have kept me head of the heathen; a people I knew not shall serve me. (45) Strangers shall submit themselves to me; as soon as they hear, they shall be obedient to me. (46) Strangers shall fade away, and they shall be afraid out of their close spaces."

The Lord had saved David from the strife of his own people; He had united Israel again.  He had also made him head of the nations round about Israel; people he had not known would be in subjection to him and obedient to him.  Those nations would fade away as their people would fear to come out of their safe spaces.

(47) "The Lord lives, and blessed my Rock! And exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation!"

The Lord Jehovah lives, and David ascribed blessing, honor, and glory to his Protector, and wished his Savior to be exalted above all others.

(48) "It is God who avenges me and who brings down the people under me, (49) And who brings me forth from my enemies; You also have lifted me up on high above them who rose up against me; You have delivered me from the violent man."

David acknowledged that it was God who avenged the wrong done to him and subdued his enemies.  God alone delivered him from his enemies as he triumphed over those who rose up against him.  He alone lifted David up to the throne when all odds were against him.  He alone had delivered him from the violent man, any man who had been his enemy at the time, or perhaps his meaning was that all his enemies were under the influence of one particular violent man, Satan.

(50) "Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the heathen, and I will sing praises to Your name."

For all the marvelous things the Lord had done for David, he was happy to give thanks and sing praises to Him among all nations.  This could be an allusion to Christ, as in the New Testament, Paul cited scripture very similar to this and ascribed to it prophecy of Christ calling the heathen, the Gentiles (Romans 15:9).

(51) "The tower of salvation for His king, and shows mercy to His anointed, to David, and to his descendants forevermore."

The Lord was David's tower, his rock, his very salvation, and He showed great mercy to him and had promised to do so to his descendants forevermore (2 Samuel 7:13, 1 Chronicles 17:14).

This song of deliverance sung by David was one of those songs of praise David vowed to sing to his Lord, and it would become one of his many psalms, specifically Psalm 18, studied in the next post.

David's Kingdom Strengthened

Continuing a chronological Bible study: 

(2 Samuel 8:1) And after this, it came to pass that David struck the Philistines and subdued them, and David took Metheg Ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.

David had had a conversation with the prophet Nathan about building the house of God, but the Lord told him through Nathan not to build, that his descendant would build it, and that He would establish his kingdom forever.  It seems David's rest from his enemies was a short one, and he was soon back to war.  David took Metheg Ammah out of the hand of the Philistines.  Comparing the same incident in 1 Chronicles 18, we learn David actually took Gath and her towns.  Metheg Ammah doesn't appear to be the name of a city but rather means something to the effect of "bridle of the metropolis."  It was probably an epithet of Gath.  The Latin Vulgate, a 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible, expounded to write that David removed the bondage of the tribute which the Israelites paid to the Philistines.  This map borrowed from BibleStudy.org shows the location of Gath in relation to Jerusalem:

(2) And he struck Moab and measured them with a line, casting them down to the ground; even with two lines measured he put to death, and with one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became David's servants and brought gifts.

David then struck Moab.  There seems to be no consensus on the exact meaning of this verse, but it appears that David killed two-thirds of the Moabites and kept one third of them as servants who brought David gifts, probably meaning they were obliged to pay tribute.  Jewish writers have asserted that the reason for the severe treatment of these people was their having massacred David’s parents whom he had, during his exile, committed to the king of Moab (1 Samuel 22:3).  Although the Bible does not record this, David's parents were never mentioned again after he left them in the king's care.  This map borrowed from The Jordan Valley shows Moab and actually all the areas where David expanded his kingdom:  

(3) David struck also Hadadezer, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to recover his border at the river Euphrates.

Whether it was when Hadadezer went to recover part of his dominion that had fallen to someone else, or perhaps what is meant is that David was the one who went to recover his border as God had promised Abraham land to the river Euphrates (Genesis 15:18), either way, that is when David struck Hadadezer.

(4) And David took from him a thousand chariots, and seven hundred horsemen, and twenty thousand footmen; and David houghed all the chariots but reserved of them a hundred chariots.

David took from Hadadezer a thousand chariots, seven hundred horsemen (or rather perhaps seven hundred companies of horsemen as the same account in 1 Chronicles 18 says 7000 horsemen), and 20,000 footmen.  He disjointed all the chariots except for a hundred of them.

(5) And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer king of Zobah, David killed of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men.

The Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, but David and his army killed 22,000 of them.

(6) Then David put garrisons in Syria of Damascus, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought gifts. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.

David put garrisons in that part of Syria where Damascus was, and the Syrians became servants to David and brought gifts, which again I believe means they were subject to Israel and paid tribute.  The Lord preserved and protected David wherever he went.

(7) And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadadezer and brought them to Jerusalem. (8) And from Betah, and from Berothai, cities of Hadadezer, king David took exceeding much brass.

David took the gold shields that were on Hadadezer's servants, most likely soldiers, and brought them back to Jerusalem.  He also took a great deal of brass from the cities of Hadadezer.

(9) When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck all the host of Hadadezer, (10) Then Toi sent Joram his son to King David to salute him and to bless him because he had fought against Hadadezer and struck him, for Hadadezer had wars with Toi. And Joram brought with him vessels of silver and vessels of gold and vessels of brass,

When Toi king of Hamath heard that David had struck down Hadadezer's army, he was apparently glad because Hadadezer had had wars with Toi.  He sent his son Joram to greet and offer blessings to King David and to bring him gifts of gold, silver, and brass.

(11) Which also King David did dedicate to the Lord, with the silver and gold that he had dedicated of all nations which he subdued, (12) Of Syria, and of Moab, and of the children of Ammon, and of the Philistines, and of Amalek, and of the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, king of Zobah.

David took those gifts of gold, silver, and brass, and dedicated them to the Lord, along with all the spoil he had taken from all the nations he had subdued, from Syria, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, Amalek, and Hadadezer of Zobah.

(13) And David got a name when he returned from striking of the Syrians in the valley of salt, eighteen thousand.

David had made a name for himself when he returned from striking the Syrians in the valley of salt.  Verse 5 said that David had killed 22,000 Syrians of Damascus.  However, according to the map above, the Valley of Salt is in the southwestern corner in the lands of Amalek and Edom.  The Syrians may have been confederates of the Edomites, and David struck 18,000 more of them in the Valley of Salt.

(14) And he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all they of Edom became David's servants. And the Lord preserved David wherever he went.

David also put garrisons throughout Edom, and the people of Edom also became subjects of Israel.  Once again, we are told that the Lord protected and preserved David wherever he went.

(1 Chronicles 18:1) Now after this, it came to pass that David struck the Philistines and subdued them and took Gath and her towns out of the hand of the Philistines.

The account of David's battles to expand his kingdom are also told in 1 Chronicles 18.  David took Gath and her towns from the Philistines.

(2) And he struck Moab, and the Moabites became David's servants and brought gifts. (3) And David struck Hadarezer king of Zobah to Hamath, as he went to establish his dominion by the river Euphrates.

David struck the Moabites and made them tributaries.  He also struck the king of Zobah called Hadarezer here instead of Hadadezer.

(4) And David took from him a thousand chariots and seven thousand horsemen and twenty thousand footmen. David also houghed all the chariots but reserved of them a hundred chariots. (5) And when the Syrians of Damascus came to help Hadarezer king of Zobah, David killed of the Syrians twenty-two thousand men. (6) Then David put garrisons in Syria Damascus, and the Syrians became David's servants and brought gifts. Thus the Lord preserved David wherever he went.

The account continues pretty much word for word as the account in 2 Samuel 8.

(7) And David took the shields of gold that were on the servants of Hadarezer and brought them to Jerusalem. (8) Likewise from Tibhath and from Chun, cities of Hadarezer, brought David very much brass, with which Solomon made the bronze sea and the pillars and the vessels of brass.

David brought the gold shields of the servants of Hadarezer to Jerusalem, along with a lot of brass he got from some of his cities, two different ones named than the ones in the account in 2 Samuel 8.  This account added that King Solomon later used the brass to make articles for the temple.

(9) Now when Tou king of Hamath heard how David had struck all the host of Hadarezer king of Zobah, (10) He sent Hadoram his son to King David to enquire of his welfare and to congratulate him because he had fought against Hadarezer and defeated him (for Hadarezer had war with Tou) and all manner of vessels of gold and silver and brass.

In this account the king of Hamath was called Tou rather than Toi, and his son was called Hadoram rather than Joram, but other than that, the account is pretty much the same.

(11) Them also King David dedicated to the Lord, with the silver and the gold that he brought from all nations, from Edom, and from Moab, and from the children of Ammon, and from the Philistines, and from Amalek.

David dedicated all the silver and gold he had gotten from all the nations he had subdued, to the Lord.

(12) Moreover Abishai the son of Zeruiah killed of the Edomites in the valley of salt eighteen thousand. (13) And he put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became David's servants. Thus the Lord preserved David wherever he went.

This account states it was actually Abishai, the son of David's sister Zeruiah, who led the army who killed the 18,000 men in the Valley of Salt.  Then David put garrisons in all of Edom, and the Edomites became tributaries.  Again, the Lord preserved David wherever he went.