The last words of David

Currents in Theology and Mission, Feb, 2004 by Ralph W. Klein

I remember a stimulating conversation with Bob Smith more than twenty years ago, when he was expounding on the dramatic significance of the first and last words of Jesus in each of the synoptic Gospels. (1) I've thought of that conversation many times as I have wrestled with one of my favorite biblical characters, David, who has been the subject of one of my regular elective courses, (2) and who is the centerpiece of 1 Chronicles, on which I have just written an extended commentary. David's first word is hardly that momentous: "What shall be done for the person who kills this Philistine [Goliath], and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?" (1 Sam 17:26). (3) Because the books of Samuel tell the story of David "warts and all," we are not surprised to find David, the hero of faith and military hero, also using an ethnic slur about the uncircumcised Philistines.

But I am far more intrigued by the many "last words of David" since they are so varied in form and content and since he is the only king of Israel or Judah of whom last words are reported.

The biblical narrator explicitly calls the poem cited in 2 Sam 23:1-7 "The Last Words of David" even though there are significant events still coming in David's life before his death (2 Sam 24:1-1 Kgs 2:12).

The first "last words of David": 2 Sam 23:1-7 (4)

1. These are the last words of David: "The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the person God established, the person anointed by the God of Jacob, the person favored by the Stronghold of Israel. (5)

2. The spirit of Yahweh has spoken through me, Yahweh's word is on my tongue.

3. The God of Jacob has spoken, the Rock of Israel has addressed me: 'One who rules over people as a righteous person, ruling in the fear of God,

4. is like the light of morning, like the sun rising on a morning without clouds, shining from the rain on the verdant land.'

5. Is not my house like this with God? For God has established an everlasting covenant with me, worked out in all its details and secure. Will God not cause to blossom my success and everything I desire?

6. 'But the good-for-nothings are like thorns to be thrown away; that cannot be picked up by the hand.

7. Anyone who touches them must be equipped with an iron bar or the shaft of a spear. They will be utterly consumed by fire where they live.'"

King David claims prophetic authority in vv. 1-3a of this poem (he is gifted with the spirit, he has Yahweh's word on his tongue, the Rock of Israel has addressed him, and he delivers an oracle). The divine oracle itself is in vv. 3b-4 and 6-7, with David's own interjection in v. 5.

The divine oracle has a wisdom flavor, contrasting the righteously ruling king with unspecified "good-for-nothings." The latter term recalls the sons of Eli in 1 Sam 2:12-17, who stole from the sacrificial offerings. The righteous king and the wicked are described with metaphors from nature. The righteous king is like the sun that gives heat and light and beauty, whereas the good-for-nothings are like thorns that must be discarded and burned and are so worthless that they can injure the person who tries to weed them out without proper equipment. A final wisdom theme is the reference in v. 3 to ruling in the fear of God.

David's interjection in v. 5 is quite surprising, since he claims that his own family has displayed such righteousness and such rule in the fear of God. Readers of 2 Samuel 11-21 would be surprised at that since David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, murdered her husband, responded weakly to the rape of his daughter Tamar by her half brother Amnon, witnessed the assassination of Amnon by Absalom, experienced the revolt of Absalom and his assassination by Joab, and then taken an inappropriate, self-reliant census. This is ruling righteously?

David answers this objection by noting that his kingship is God's gift, sealed by an everlasting covenant. Success and achievement are brought about solely by divine initiative. In short, David is talking about the ideal of royal rule, which comes from God. It is not obtained by grasping for political power or living by one's own wits and rules. Only with God's help can David or any of his successors rule righteously. Psalm 72 spells out this ideal kingship in more detail and also begins with the words: "Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son." The messianic promise in Isaiah 11:1-5 promises a king who will judge with righteousness and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. This royal ideal at the end of 2 Samuel is reinforced by the Song of Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-10) at the beginning of the books of Samuel. Hannah sings about Yahweh who judges the ends of the earth and exalts the power of the anointed king. The narrator of the books of Samuel does not whitewash David but leaves the warts and blemishes of the real David for all to see in 2 Samuel 11-21. Only at the end, in the "Last Words of David," does he paint an alternate, idealized imagery of human rule.