The Way
David's Last Words
A last breath that sang of a cloudless morning
Story
The boy who had tended sheep was now an old king with white hair. David son of Jesse, the singer of Israel, sang his last song: “The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his word is on my tongue. The Rock of Israel said to me: One who rules people justly, ruling in the fear of God, is like the light of sunrise on a cloudless morning, like new grass springing from the earth after rain.”
David went on singing: “Is not my house like this before God? He has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in every part and kept secure.” As the day of his death drew near, David called Solomon and charged him: “I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man. Walk in the Lord's ways, as it is written in the law of Moses. Then the Lord will keep his promise that you will never lack a descendant to sit on the throne.”
After giving his instructions one by one, about Joab and Shimei and about the kindness to be shown to the sons of Barzillai, David rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. He was a king who reigned forty years in all: seven years in Hebron and thirty-three in Jerusalem. Psalm 72 closes with a single line: the prayers of David son of Jesse are ended. For a long time Israel waited for the king from his line who would rise like a cloudless morning.
Walk this scene on the map →Words of God and David
One who rules people justly, who rules in the fear of God, is like the light of sunrise on a cloudless morning, like new grass springing from the earth after rain.
The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; his word is on my tongue.
He has made an everlasting covenant with me, a covenant ordered in every part and kept secure.
I am going the way of all the earth. Be strong, and show yourself a man. Keep what the Lord your God has entrusted to you, and walk in his ways.
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: 2 Sam 23:1–7 · 1 Kgs 2:1–12
Background
The seven years in Hebron were when he was king over the tribe of Judah alone. For a long time afterward the prophets awaited a righteous branch to spring from the house of David, and the New Testament calls Jesus “the son of David.”
Pause and Reflect
Do I hope that even at the end of my life I can declare God's faithfulness?