David’s Last Words
Open Your Bible
2 Samuel 23:1-39, 2 Samuel 24:1-25, Micah 1:2-3, John 2:19-22
BY Amanda Bible Williams
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 23:1-39, 2 Samuel 24:1-25, Micah 1:2-3, John 2:19-22
They say that at the end of life, things will become clearer. Our priorities will crystallize and our discernment will sharpen. They say no one ever lies on their deathbed and says, “I should have spent more time at the office.” No one wishes they’d been less generous, less loving, less devoted to forgiveness and reconciliation. The secret, then, is to live now with the end in mind—to live now like we’ll wish we had then.
This is what they say. But what does the Bible say?
Scripture is filled with flawed humans who could have lived life better. Aside from Jesus, you’ll be hard pressed to find a person whose deathbed retrospective is free of wishes or regrets. Come to think of it, the idea of finding a “secret” to outsmarting our humanity is wholly absent in the 66 books of the Bible.
Instead of giving us life hacks, God’s Word gives us a promise: our life here on earth exists within our truer, eternal life with God through His Son.
When we reach the final chapters of 2 Samuel, at the end of David’s life, we don’t find him urging us to be our best selves. We find him composing a final poem—one last expression of what he knows to be true of God and his life with God. In it, David declares:
Is it not true my house is with God?
For he has established a permanent covenant with me,
ordered and secured in every detail.
Will he not bring about
My whole salvation and my every desire?
– 2 Samuel 23:5
David’s dying thoughts don’t hinge on what he has or has not done, but rather on what God has done and continues to do.
God made a covenant with David and He ordered every detail, in David’s life and beyond, to uphold that covenant. The second half of chapter 23 gives us a glimpse into those details—a brief and profound look into God’s provision, for David and for all people of the covenant, through the exploits of David’s “Mighty Men.”
This group of more than thirty men were named and known, both by the Lord and by David. Their devotion to God’s anointed king was no accident, and neither was the bravery and might they displayed on David’s behalf. One, named Eleazar, fought until he quite literally could not go on. Verse 10 says he “stood his ground and attacked the Philistines until his hand was tired and stuck to his sword.” Even so, Scripture makes it clear that God brought about the victory that day (1 Samuel 23:10). Another, called Benaiah, “went down into a pit on a snowy day and killed a lion” (v.20). A trio of men known as “the Three” risked their lives just to bring a thirsty, homesick King David a drink of water from his hometown well (vv.15-16).
I circled their names in my study book—these warriors of the covenant who are known by name to the Lord and now to us so many generations later. It was the name at the end of the list that made my stomach lurch: Uriah the Hethite (v.39). The same Uriah who was married to Bathsheba. The same Uriah who was killed to cover up the king’s own sin. A mighty man snuffed out by a powerful one.
Our stories, like David’s, are complicated. They are filled with things we did and didn’t do, things other people did and didn’t do, and the consequences that followed. We have days when we look like heroes and days when our hearts look as murderous and unfaithful as David’s did with Uriah and Bathsheba. The story told in 1 and 2 Samuel offers us only one faithful Hero—the Lord.
God’s faithfulness is the context of David’s story and ours. His sovereignty reigns over every plot point; His mercy is mightier than our regrets. By faith in God’s Son, Jesus, we can stand at the end of our days and say with David, “My house is with God. He has established a permanent covenant with me, ordered and secured in every detail. He will bring about my whole salvation.”
All glory be to Him.
28 thoughts on "David’s Last Words"
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One of the most life-changing Bible journeys I’ve had was last year’s SRT study “Mourning & Dancing.” It completely shifted the way I look at my life and the Bible.
I’m one of those people that love to hear stories of people’s past and reminisce on my own experiences –I even scrapbook! So, I often look back and think about what I have/haven’t done, what I’ve gone through, whom I’ve met, what/whom I’ve lost… I can attest that the only constant in my life has always been the Lord.
It’s safe to say that it’s never season of calm and happiness, after season of chaos and sadness, and so on. Life’s seasons are always intertwined and messy, usually difficult to discern which is which.This sometimes causes me to dread change, to try to remain in a safe place for fear of getting hurt. But I’ve realized that no place in this broken world is safe. Nothing that we can finally have (house/job/husband/friends) will provide us peaceful, restful bliss.
The only safe place, the only rock, the only refuge is our God. Our never-changing Lord. The only peace we can get, while we wait for our eternal one, is the one given by His Spirit.My heart is full at the end of this study. I’m moved to do great things for God, to be still and wait, to accept whatever He sends my way. Because, though the circumstances change, our God remains the same ❤
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One faithful hero….the Lord! Yes, thank you Jesus for being faithful throughout my life!
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I enjoyed the raw reality of Redemption in David’s life. He is real. That authentic living before a holy God enabled David to know really know the Living God. Grateful for the Bible and the stories that aren’t sweet and wrapped in a bow. Thank you Jesus that you are faithful to us more than we are to you. You are worthy of our trust.
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Great point! I think that’s why it’s easy to relate to David, especially when I read his emotions in the Psalms.
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I feel like Summer in the comment above….my kid’s Sunday school version of David has reigned in my head. Kill Goliath, evade Saul, become king, sin with Bathsheba and suffer the consequences but blessed by God his whole reign. I’ve learned there was so much more to the story just as I’ve learned there’s so much more to my story.
I love David! In 1 Samuel David was a humble servant before the Lord and said so many things in response to his circumstances that challenged me in my faith and trust of the Lord. I continue to go back to the passage about David and Goliath and ask myself today….”just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” This is the David that taught me through the chapters of 1 Samuel that my God fights for me and He reigns victorious over my battles.
BUT
To be honest….I really don’t like King David. Throughout the pages of 2 Samuel I was continually disappointed and angry with a fallen, lustful, murderous, and broken human being. At the end of many chapters I just sat and thought, how could the Lord’s blessing be upon this man? THEN I made the connection…..I am king David. I am encouraged by the words of David as he faced his giants and the Lord gives me victory but I often fail to remember HIS strength and HIS will in my life and I take matters into my own hands. Just like King David.
I feel like the Lord gave me two sides to the life of David and it’s revealing to me my own true sin struggle. The words of David continue to encourage me in facing my giants but the fallen nature of King David humbles me before my perfect Savior in repentance and brokenness asking for His new mercies and grace everyday. Because His blessing remains upon me even in my brokenness.
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Yes, I so agree with you. Great post! I love how the Word is not “cleaned up”. At every page turn I am reminded why I so desperately need a Savior. Hallelujah.
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I am king David. Wow. So true. Thank you for inspiring me to take an aerial view of the whole story. It seemed so much easier for David to rely and follow God when he had so little and life was simpler. God and family were all he had. But then God’s blessing rained down on him and relying on God became more difficult. I think it’s because he had the means to create and execute his own plans. He had the earthly resources to do whatever he wanted.
Having earthly resources like money, power, and respect appear to be the high life. But man did it take David down more than a few times. And David was a good man! A man after God’s own heart! Funny how God could be protecting us from ourselves when we ask for earthly increase. It’s a great reminder to be thankful for where you are now, even if it feels like you can handle more. David lost several children to evil and greed. I wonder if he ever asked himself, “Was it even worth it?”
David didn’t always want to surrender his entire life to God (like the womanizing for instance) and this created a lot of chaos in his life. Its also the part in the story when he become highly unlikeable. It’s my prayer that no matter how much God blesses us, that life and our relationship with God still feels simple. It’s my prayer that surrendering all becomes second nature to us – no matter how much God blesses us.
One thing I do give David credit for was his ability to always come back to God with a pure heart. He stuck out the relationship and God loved him despite his imperfections.
Thank you JessMC for sparking all this thought! Loved your commentary!
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“This is what they say. But what does the Bible say?” Amanda, you do such a good job of pointing us to the Bible for our answers. Not just that–you gently remind us that the Bible (and its answers) is not about us but about God. My heart is realigned this morning. God’s faithfulness is the context of my story. “My house is with God.”
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Thank you SRT for faithfully pointing us to Jesus. As I close 1&2 Samuel, I see much of myself within it. Sometimes I’m killing giants in the name of the Lord and other days I have blood on my hands. Through it all, the God Who knows it all loves me still and remains faithful to His Word. Jesus never wipes His hands of me in disgust – He wraps them around me. He whispers His promises in my ear. And He delivers on every one. How often I need to remember this! When I feel like the enemy is closing in and I’m shivering in a dark cave, there comes the Light that shows me not only the way out but walks right beside me. He is my deliverer and my protector. I just need the reminder. Thank you.
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Thank you for your words, you summed it up so beautifully!
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Eloquently summarised churchmouse – a reminder I need too, daily.
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This Bible study was great. Whenever I thought about David in the last, it was pretty much, “Beat Goliath, lived happily ever after.” This has helped me to put into perspective the up’s and down’s of not just David’s life, but also my own. Being a Christian doesn’t mean bad or scary things won’t happen to us anymore. Sometimes we are living on the mountain, no Goliath in sight. But other times, we find ourselves walking in the valley, trying to get out of the trouble we are in. It’s then we need to focus on the time we’ve spent on the mountain top. God is good all the time and we will see us through to the end.
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Amen
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I struggle very much with my body. I look at myself and never feel good enough. It’s hard because I know God cares deeply and has put so much faith in me, but I still hate the way I look. Nobody on their death bed wishes they were 10 pounds lighter, they want to be surrounded by loved ones. So today I took a pledge to love myself. I hope you will join me sisters on my road to self love because we all deserve happiness.
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Thank you Alison! I too struggle. I need to be thankful for what I have….with my body. I struggle daily with knowing how I once was to what I am now. And I need to concentrate on what works for me! I needed this reminder today when I am wide awake at 4 if I should work out or sleep and I just have to realize it doesn’t matter. I want to love the Lord with all I am and love myself because He made me just how I am suppose to be!
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Walking, hand in hand with you beautiful, made in His image child of the Most High God. Remember, He knows every detail of YOU , and He absolutely without a doubt loves all of YOU. Praying His banner of love over you..
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Psalm 45:11. “The king is enthralled with your beauty. Honor him for he is your Lord.”
Praying for you! -
Alison, it is so amazing that you posted this. I’ve, too, always felt bad about my body. I avert my eyes when I’m dressing in the morning so I don’t catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. The other morning I felt a word from God. It has only happened a few times in my life. Not an audible word, but I felt He was speaking to me. He said that he wanted me to love my body. He made it and it is precious in His sight. I know that didn’t come from me because it is a thought I would never have! It was an entirely new concept to me. To not only take care of my body, but to love it, as it is. He created me, just as I am, and gave me this precious gift. I spend much time and effort wishing it was different. This has been an amazing experience for me and I’m trying each day to love my body. It is still a struggle for me, but I am trying each day to thank God for my body and to love it!
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