“Dark Devotions” – Ray Patchett and Steve Messer
When David’s time to die drew near, he commanded Solomon his son, saying, “I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man, and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways… that the Lord may establish his word that he spoke concerning me, saying, ‘If your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk
before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel’…
The last words of famous people before they die hold a special fascination, as though they grant some insight into their character and priorities. King David’s last words start promisingly. His charge to Solomon, his son and heir, encourages him to pursue a godly life in order that God could honour the great covenant promise he had made that David’s throne would endure forever (2 Sam 7:12-16). If only he had stopped there.
1 Kings 2:8-9 …And there is also with you Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite from Bahurim, who cursed me with a grievous curse on the day when I went to Mahanaim. But when he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the Lord, saying, ‘I will not put you to death with the sword.’ Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his grey head down with blood to Sheol.”
The Bible reveals David as one of the ‘great ones of the earth (2 Sam 7:9), who proved himself a more worthy ruler of Israel than his predecessor Saul by vanquishing the giant Goliath, then refusing to take vengeance on jealous Saul even though he wanted David dead. He made Jerusalem Israel’s capital, defeated enemy nations and created conditions enabling Solomon to reign in peace. He greatly enriched the country and proved his devotion to Yahweh bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, also announcing his desire to build a temple there. He was known as the sweet psalmist of Israel (2 Sam 23:1), having 73 out of the Bible’s 150 psalms attributed to him, a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14), who served the purpose of God in his own generation (Acts 13:34). Sure, there was the adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his murderous cover-up (2 Sam 11-12), but he repented in sincerity and we have the extraordinary Psalm 51 as a result.
But now, on his death-bed, the great King David’s final words were not exemplary, they were vengeful. Shimei was a relative of King Saul who, when David was forced to flee Jerusalem at the time of his son Absalom’s rebellion, pelted David with stones and pronounced curses on him (2 Sam 16:5-14). Later, when David returned to Jerusalem following Absalom’s defeat, he was met by Shimei, pleading for his life. David, withholding vengeance, swears that his life will be spared (2 Sam 19:16-23), only to out- source execution to Solomon as he lay dying. Solomon may well have said, “Do your own dirty
work!” David was the benchmark by which all future kings of Israel would be judged. If he was the best there was, what does that say of the rest of them and for any who pin their hopes on finding a just and righteous king or leader?
Well did Psalm 146 put it, “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation” (3). If we look to political leaders for solutions to our human predicament we will only ever be disappointed. But the Bible encourages us to look beyond David’s fickleness and failures to a descendant who would exceed even his best achievements. David’s own Psalm 110 and the prophets looked ahead to the arrival of one who has become known as “Great David’s Greater Son”. Ezekiel spoke of a day when God would raise up for his people a new David to rule “among them” (!) as a shepherd-king, establishing everlasting peace and God’s eternal presence (34:23-24; 37:24-25). Isn’t that the kind of leader we really need?
As Jesus, the ‘Good Shepherd’ (Jn 10:11,14), prepared his disciples to continue his mission after his return to heaven, he spoke to them on the night before Golgotha, saying, “I am among you as the one who serves” (Lk 22:27). He is the new David of whom Ezekiel prophesied, in fulfilment of God’s promise to King David. And this new David’s famous last words grant wonderful insight into his character and priorities: “Father, forgive them.” (Lk 23:24). Not for him the death-bed vengeance of his ancestor, even though he had been mocked, spat on and beaten before enduring the agony of the cross. Don’t put your trust in earthly rulers. Find refuge and salvation by seeking forgiveness in God’s true king, the Lord Jesus Christ, the coming inheritor of all God’s promises who will share the reign of his eternal kingdom with all who trust him now.
“Come Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20).
Hail to the Lord’s anointed,
Great David’s greater Son!
Hail in the time appointed,
His reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression,
To set the captive free;
To take away transgression,
And rule in equity…
…O’er every foe victorious,
He on His throne shall rest;
From age to age more glorious,
All blessing and all blest.
The tide of time shall never
His covenant remove;
His name shall stand forever,
His name to us is Love
(James Montgomery, 1812)
One of the dangers for every generation is that emphasising certain aspects of the Gospel to address particular concerns gets taken so far that it becomes a dangerous distortion. Zechariah 3 is a very important reminder of the essential problem of sin that excludes us from the divine presence. He presents this issue in regard to those who returned from Babylonian exile to rebuild Jerusalem, the holy city. In this chapter the issue of sin is portrayed as a dirty stink on the clothing of the high priest Joshua. This is important for our generation, that we do not lose sight of the fact that Jesus is not fundamentally a psychologist or social worker, but he is a priest who makes atonement for sin, which is the ultimate cause of our offence in the sight of the holy God.
Zechariah contains apocalyptic literature, which emerged from devastating circumstances to give expression to the difficulty of interpreting such traumatic and brutal circumstances, particularly in light of God’s covenant promises to build a glorious new Jerusalem. Zechariah employs apocalyptic imagery to prophetically call Israel to turn back to Yhwh their God because he is zealous to achieve his purposes to establish a renewed holy city and bring justice upon the nations. This is a helpful message for us as we face the current difficult circumstances and seek to be faithful to the Lord Jesus in how we continue on.
