Scripture Text (NRSV)
23:1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, son
of Jesse, the oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:
23:2 The spirit of the LORD speaks through me, his word is upon my
tongue.
23:3 The God of Israel has spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me:
One who rules over people justly, ruling in the fear of God,
23:4 is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless
morning, gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.
23:5 Is not my house like this with God? For he has made with me an
everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not
cause to prosper all my help and my desire?
23:6 But the godless are all like thorns that are thrown away; for
they cannot be picked up with the hand;
23:7 to touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. And
they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.
Comments:
We are facing a federal election in Canada the day after this text
would be read, and of course the future leadership in the U.S. seems
far from certain at this point.
What a challenge for those would be leaders, of nations or of
churches, this reading poses. And yet it comes from one who certainly
had his weaknesses in terms of leadership.
To me, this speaks of the possibility for striving for what we know is
an unreachable ideal. When we do so, we risk being labeled hypocrites
for not living up to what we believe, but for even trying we hear that
David is exalted by God.
Since this is the celebration of Christ the King Sunday, it is an
opportunity to tie this text to the New Testament readings. Christ is
the King who will "...rule with justice over us and ... bring dawn
upon us like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a
cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the
earth." The mixed metaphor - sun shining, rain falling - may provide a
rich foundation for exploring the nature of the rule of Christ.
-Philly Phool
Philly Phool,
This suggestion may be arriving too late for your use. But, I too have
been considering combining this with Revelation and John's Gospel. An
idea might be to also elude to Rev. 2:28 & 22:16. Both these verses
acknowledge that Christ could be the morning light as suggested by
this passage; but these two Revelation pericopes announce that he is
the Bright Morning Star given to all of us!
Blessings on you all, Pastor Dave in BC Canada
This passage is a song that aims to give theological and moral
legitimacy to the ongoing dynasty of David that endured over four
hundred years until the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.
This second book of samuel draws to a close with a song of praise
attributed to David. Hannah's song, which we encountered in 1 Samuel,
celebrated God's faithfulness at a time of birth. David's words
reflect on God's faithfulness near the time of death. David, like
Hannah, grounds his hope in God's faithfulness. David's hope rests in
the timeless covenant that God keeps, not in any temporal authority,
including his own.
My job is not to "bring hope and comfort," but to preach the gospel of
Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace who calls us to be peacemakers. I
will not be ashamed of nor quiet about my absolute affirmation that
war is not of God's kingdom. I believe the gospel does bring hope, but
not at the expense of the truth of God's word and God's ways. Hence,
the celebration of Christ's ultimate rule as king instead of eternal
rule by flawed humans.
RevCes
You may want to note that the first postings here are evidently old
ones from the last 3-year cycle. Maybe a way to make our congregations
think seriously about the implications for this text today would be to
paint a picture of the Reign of Christ, using David's words as a
jumping-off point, then reminding our listeners that we are called by
God's word to work for a just world NOW. What would a righteous
government look and act like? What can we do as citizens to help bring
this type of government closer to reality? I think that if we were to
answer these questions honestly, in light of the gospel and what we
are told the righteous kingdom of God will be like, proponents of
every point on the political spectrum would be in for a surprise! We
ALL fall short. Ken in WV.
For those who see this in November of 2003, Ravi Zacharias has been
preaching on the subject of moral leadership in his radio messages
which are available online.
Looking for my classic three points, I don't think I quite have them
yet, but I do see these three things.
1) Moral leadership begins with a recognition that God is ruler over
all and that a leader is merely a "lower level" leader. Earthly
leaders are all subject and accountable to God. (v. 3)
2) Moral leadership is preferable and is to be prefered above any
other consideration. Often our concerns have to do with the economy,
or environment, or whatever our current "hot button" is at the time.
Moral leadership, which is under God, will deal with all these things
properly. God does know what He's about. (vv. 4-5)
3) Moral leadership realizes that immoral influences are every at the
door and cannot simply be ignored. They must be removed - kept at a
distance and eliminated. (vv. 6-7)
My early thoughts ("early" for me is Wednesday)
JG in WI
