More than Morality, Part 5
This week, I conclude my series of articles on how to not moralize the OT but to understand it in a gospel-shaped way. I have been using the David & Goliath story as our case study (I Sam 17). First, let's review where we have been.
The Bible is a gospel story from cover to cover. It begins and ends with God's perfect creation. In between, it explains man's fall into sin, the curse that comes upon all creation including man, and God's gracious redemptive plan in Christ that culminates in a new heaven and new earth. As such, every part of Scripture—beginning, middle, and end—contributes to the development of how God saves sinners and renews the world through his Son.
What does the text actually say? David's not fearsome in anyone's eyes. He is young and unimpressive—this is not “man-up for Jesus” chest-thumping stuff. No macho-man moralism and self-help here! When we pay attention to such details, we set ourselves up to properly interpret the Scripture, preventing ourselves from making wrong applications from the start.
Theological core: Ask theological questions of the text. What does it teach you about God, man, sin, salvation, etc.? The theological truth that the LORD (not David) delivers abounds in this story. We also see that man is meant to be jealous for God's glory. When we ask theological questions, we see how our text aids our understanding of who God is and what he has done. We see man's need for the grace and deliverance that God alone can provide. Man cannot save himself, physically or spiritually.
Purpose statements: The theological core of the text is further evidenced by two purpose statements: "that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel" (v. 46) and "that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD's, and he will give you into our hand" (v. 47). The purpose statements are clues about what the author wants you to do, his calls to action. We, just like the original readers, are called to structure our lives according to these purposes in ways that uphold the timeless truths taught in the text. Christians aren't called to violent opposition like David, but they are called to promote the one true God in all the earth and to rely on divine deliverance instead of human ingenuity, bravado, and wisdom.
Repetition: Often, an author will repeat the heart of his message for emphasis, particularly in the OT. David & Goliath repeatedly shows us that David is concerned about the glory of God whom Goliath defies (see vv. 26, 36, 45). Furthermore, David trusts God to "deliver" (3 times). More broadly, in the book as a whole, we ask where the author focuses his bulk of material. In this way the issue of kingship takes center stage as Saul and David are contrasted repeatedly.
What comes before our story in Samuel? Samuel records the transitional period from Judges to the time when Israel has a king. The people, rejecting God as king, choose Saul to lead them. Saul's failure to obey God, however, leads God to seek out David, a man after his own heart (13:14) whom he commands Samuel to anoint as king (Ch 16). All of this must be seen as developing the prophetic song of Hannah which is laden with foreshadowing, especially the end: "The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed" (1 Sam 2:10). Who is the LORD's anointed, his "Christ"? There's a well-paved trail in the rest of Scripture that leads us to Jesus, the Christ.
What comes after? To better understand the gospel storyline of a passage, it is essential to get to know the book's overall shape, too. We not only need to consider what came before our text but where the is author taking us. What is the author's main purpose in writing? How does this episode fit within and contribute to that message? Three essentials come to mind for David & Goliath: The comparison of Saul and David as two very different kings reveals David's YHWH-centered worldview and God-honoring faith whereas Saul severely lacks that faith and focus. The covenant God makes with David signifies his divine plan to bring about a climactic and final King whose kingdom is as righteous and eternal as himself. Additionally, the conclusion of the book reminds us of how it began. David's song of deliverance (II Sam 22) echoes themes from Hannah's God-centered song in many ways (I Sam 2). Through all of the turmoil of Samuel, the LORD has exalted his anointed; he has delivered David through manifold trials and firmly established him as his king. Yet, even in light of this great deliverance, we are left anticipating an even greater King, a greater Anointed, the better David, David's son. Samuel leaves us looking for the Christ whom Hannah ultimately spoke of and God promised to David by covenant. In this way, this book directly points us forward to Jesus Christ, the offspring of David and heir of David's throne.
Now for my final advice: we have to fit our text into the development of Scripture as a whole, not just Samuel. This is no small task considering how towering a figure David is in both testaments. For our current purposes, I have selected a representative text from each section of the OT and NT to help us understand the overall David story. It's clear that David is a type of the Great David to come.
Wisdom Literature/Poetry: "Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David" (Ps 89:49)?
Historical Books: "Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and since he had promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever" (2 Chr 21:7).
Major Prophets: "Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is our righteousness'" (Jer 23:5-6).
Minor Prophets: "For the children of Israel shall dwell many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or pillar, without ephod or household gods. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God, and David their king, and they shall come in fear to the LORD and to his goodness in the latter days" (Hos 3:4-5).
Gospels & Acts: "Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, 'I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.' Of this man's offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised (Acts 13:21-23)."
Epistles: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel" (2 Tim 2:8).
Apocalypse: "And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals'" (Rev 5:5).
David was a man after God's heart; Christ even more so. David was concerned for God's glory; Christ is supremely concerned for that glory. David obeyed the Lord; Christ obeyed perfectly. David trusted the LORD to deliver Israel from Goliath; Christ entrusted himself even to the point of death on a cross under the weight of man's sins. David was a great king; Christ is greater. David reigned for 40 years. Christ rules forever. David was given a covenant; Christ is the fulfillment of the covenant. When considering passages in these ways, we will better see how the author intended the passage to be read, understood, and applied.
