"He who rules over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain. Truly is not my house so with God? For He has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things, and secured; For all my salvation and all my desire, will He not indeed make it grow? (vv.1-5)
Although David was not technically on his death bed, today’s reading constitutes his “last words” (v.1), pointing to a future king from his house. The first part of David’s speech (given to him by God) was about the qualities of ideal leadership: ruling “people in righteousness” and “in the fear of God” (v.3). God’s picture of the ideal ruler, then, points us to the day when that picture will be fulfilled completely—in the eternal reign of Christ in His kingdom. For no earthly man could do this, not even David. David’s words then contain hints at what is yet to come.
Next David’s speech moved to his own response to God’s picture of, the ideal ruler. While we see that (in part) David met these qualifications, his words also point us to something bigger, beyond himself. It was not just David in focus here, but his “house”; not just David’s present kingdom, but God’s promised “everlasting covenant” (v. 5).
Again, we look forward to a future ruler from the house of David that will reign with a righteousness that renews and restores - the return of king Jesus. Until then, pray that God will continue to raise up mighty men and women who are willing to risk all to serve Him, as we have seen here in the book of 2 Samuel.
The Truth: “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:” (Matthew 1:1)
