Having gone to such great lengths to identify himself with
Israel, and having taken such great pains to effectively insert himself into
the public consciousness of the narrative of Israel’s defining event, David
then makes quite a bold leap. We take note of this leap in the context of
what it was that would have been crossing the minds of the hearers and readers
of this song, in the wake of what has already been said.
By way of review, we acknowledge that David has called to
mind the God of the exodus (2 Samuel 22:2-3). He has spoken of calling to
the Lord, as did Israel in Egypt, with the congruent hearing and deliverance
that followed (22:4). With the language of death and distress, and yet
another plaintive calling (22:5-7), he has reiterated his recognition of the
God of the exodus, just as we saw the multiplied references to God hearing His
people in Exodus. By referencing the heaving and shaking of the earth,
the trembling of the sky, the Lord’s anger, smoke and fire, and fiery coals
(22:8-9), he has effectively brought the plagues to remembrance. Mention
of the descent of the sky and clouds at the feet of the Lord (22:10) have
called Mount Sinai to memory. Talk of wings (22:11) reminds the people of
the Lord’s carrying Israel out of Egypt as if on the wings of an eagle and
bringing them to His mountain (Exodus 19:4), which was spoken by the Lord, to
Moses, at Mount Sinai. A reference to clouds and brightness and fire
(22:12-13) produces memories of being closed in at the edge of the sea, with
Egypt’s army ready to attack. Then, of course, David speaks of the
parting of the waters in the face of certain annihilation, when he speaks of
the depths of the sea being exposed and the inner regions of the world being
uncovered by the breath of the Almighty (22:16).
Having roused the nationalistic passions of those that would
be exposed to this song, we then saw that David took the step of identifying
himself with Israel, and as Israel, in his personal experience of God’s power,
by a direct insertion of himself (so to speak) into the sea that had been
opened up for God’s people to cross (22:17-19). It is following this that
we meet up with David’s bold leap. Because David has recounted Israel’s
experience in Egypt, the crying out, the plagues, the physical exodus, the
cloud and the fire, the dry-ground crossing, the destruction of Egypt’s army,
the deliverance towards the promised land, God’s presence at Sinai, and God’s
personal act of delivering His people to Sinai (eagle’s wings), the very next
thing that is going to be crossing the mind of the people is the Lord’s giving
of the Ten Commandments, along with the incident of the golden calf. It
seems to be relatively clear that David has this in mind; and bearing in mind
that he has positioned himself as Israel (he may have been helped along in
thinking this way because he too has a special covenant with God), he goes on
to say, “The Lord repaid me for my godly deeds; He rewarded me for my blameless
behavior. For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands; I have not rebelled
against my God. For I am aware of all His regulations, and I do not
reject His rules. I was blameless before Him; I kept myself from
sinning. The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds; He took notice of my
blameless behavior. You prove to be loyal to one who is faithful; You
prove to be trustworthy to one who is innocent” (22:21-26).
Is this not bold? As we consider the natural train of
thought that would have been expected based on what had led up to this point,
this is quite the surprising turn of events, requiring quite a bit of mental
contortions on the part of the hearer or reader. This is especially so if
David has indeed made the effort to identify himself as Israel. With
these words, David makes a clean break with Israelite history, setting up a
surprising contrast and pattern of thoughts with which he desired to be
associated. Most assuredly, this was not to be said of Israel in the
context of the historical narrative that David has been offering in the course
of his song. According to the historical narrative, it is precisely at
this point that Israel stepped back from godly deeds and entered into behavior
that was far from blameless, disregarding the Lord’s commands and rebelling against
their God and against Moses. In all honesty, with the rubric of
identification employed to this point, David should have here recounted his
many failures, entering into self-abasement, rather than traveling the path of
self-honor. The situation with the golden calf is a clear instance of a
rejection of the Lord’s regulations and rules for His covenant people, and
represented the pinnacle of sin into which they could fall. It was a
display of paramount disloyalty and unfaithfulness, and from the Lord’s reaction,
which was a desire to destroy the people and make a new people out of Moses
(Exodus 32:10), they stood at a great distance from a state of innocence.
So this is bold indeed, for knowing what we know about David, such words should
have been far from his lips, and such thoughts should have been far from his
mind.
With these words of godliness, blamelessness, consummate
faith and innocence, David is actually rehearsing what it was that God had
intended for and desired from His people, though he himself fell far short of
this goal. Naturally, there is only one individual that could truly and
rightly speak these words as the embodiment of Israel. This
self-description would be taken up by the one known as the “Son of David,” who
would also be the physical embodiment of Israel’s God, when He would take it
upon Himself to do for the world, through Jesus (the representative of Israel)
what had been purposed first for Adam, for Abraham, and then for Israel.
Ultimately, He would carry out that purpose and mission through His
manifestation, by the Spirit, through His church that would be assembled and
sent into the world through the power of the Gospel.
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