2 Sam. 22 : 1 - 22 : 51

[R' Y'hoshua Moshe]

Here is the weekly Haftarah (concluding section) of the Reading Schedule…<br>
Ha’azinu “Give Ear”<br>
2 Shemu’el (Samuel) 22:1-22:51

May the following be our prayer...

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy ." - Psalms 119:18

Also, please share with us what our Heavenly Father has shown you, or ask any questions that you may have.

Shalom aleichem chaverim (peace be upon you friends),

Reuel

[alon]

2 Samuel 22:1-51, Haftara for Par’shah Ha’azinu

This song of thanksgiving expresses thanks to YHVH Goelech- The Lord Thy Redeemer, by whom Melech Dovid was delivered from many dangers and was granted victory over his enemies. This song reveals much of Dovid’s character and why he was called by YHVH Kadash (The Lord Who Sanctifies) “a man after my heart”:

Acts 13:22 (ESV) 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.’

Melech Dovid probably wrote this song shortly after his victories and possibly his installation as king, but before he sinned with Bath’sheva:

2 Samuel 8:13-14 (ESV) And David made a name for himself when he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. Then he put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

2 Samuel 11:2- (ESV) It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king's house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.” … In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.”


David’s Psalm of Deliverance

2 Samuel 22:1 (NASB) And David spoke the words of this song to the Lord in the day that the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.

It is revealing here that Dovid did not list Shaul as one of his enemies, but listed him separately. In our culture, this would mean that Shaul was his worst enemy. However, given his history with Shaul, the fact he spared Shaul’s life and his grief at Shaul’s hatred towards him; it is more likely that he never saw Melech Shaul as an enemy.

1 Samuel 24:10-12 (ESV) Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the Lord's anointed.’ See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.


Praise of YHVH, the Source of Dovid’s Strength

2 Samuel 22:2-4 (NASB) He said, “The Lord is my rock [lit crag] and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my rock, [lit God of my rock] in whom I take refuge, My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; My savior, You save me from violence. “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies.


The metaphors appearing in this passage characterize the strength of Elohe Mauzi- the God of My Strength.


Dovid’s Plight

2 Samuel 22:5-6 (NASB) “For the waves of death encompassed me; The torrents of destruction [Belial] overwhelmed [terrified] me; The cords of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me.

Dovid was apparently close to death at this point:

1 Samuel 2:6 (ESV) The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.


All Deliverances Ascribed Directly to God

2 Samuel 22:7-16 (NASB) 7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord, Yes, I cried [called] to my God; And from His temple [heavenly abode] He heard my voice, And my cry for help came into His ears. 8 “Then the earth shook and quaked, The foundations of heaven were trembling And were shaken, because He was angry. 9 “Smoke went up out of His nostrils, Fire from His mouth devoured; Coals were kindled by it. 10 “He bowed the heavens also, and came down With thick darkness under His feet. 11 “And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared [some mss ‘sped] on the wings of the wind. 12 “And He made darkness canopies [pavilions] around Him, A mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. 13 “From the brightness before Him Coals of fire were kindled. 14 “The Lord thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice. 15 “And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed [lit ‘confused’] them. 16 “Then the channels of the sea appeared, The foundations of the world were laid bare By the rebuke of the Lord, At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.


The theophany (appearance of Elah Sh'maya V'Arah - God of Heaven and Earth) is here described as being manifest by extremely frightening natural phenomenon.

Exodus 19:16, 18 (ESV) On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. ... Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. The smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.

Judges 5:4-5 (ESV) “Lord, when you went out from Seir, when you marched from the region of Edom, the earth trembled and the heavens dropped, yes, the clouds dropped water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, even Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“And He rode on a cherub and flew;” Cherubim are the most powerful class of angelic beings.

1 Samuel 4:4 (ESV) So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.


God’s Rescue

2 Samuel 22:17-19 (NASB) “He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters. “He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me, for they were too strong for me. “They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support.

Dovid, instead of taking credit for his victories, gave all the glory to God. According to Pastor Ed Cole, it is a Biblical principlw to “Grab the gold, but leave the glory.” We get the benefits, but always we give both credit and thanks to El Emunah- our Faithful God.


Deliverances Depend on Right Conduct of God’s People

2 Samuel 22:20-25 (NASB) 20 “He also brought me forth into a broad [spacious] place; He rescued me, because He delighted in me. 21 “The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. 22 “For I have kept the ways of the Lord, And have not acted wickedly against my God. 23 “For all His ordinances were before me, And as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. 24 “I was also blameless [Lit complete; or having integrity] toward Him, And I kept myself from my iniquity. 25 “Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to my cleanness before His eyes.

Verses 21 and 25 seem to communicate the idea that Dovid’s deliverance is his due for his own merit. But this is not a declaration of sinlessness. We know that Dovid was sinner like anyone else. This should be read as describing David’s his integrity and his heart condition:

Psalm 78:70-72 (ESV) He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance. With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

First and foremost, David obeyed the Word of Elohim, His , and so trusted Him to keep His promise put him on the throne of Israel as an eternal dynasty.


God’s Method of Repayment

2 Samuel 22:26-28 (NASB) “With the kind You show Yourself kind, With the blameless You show Yourself blameless; With the pure You show Yourself pure, And with the perverted You show Yourself astute. “And You save an afflicted people; But Your eyes are on the haughty whom You abase.

God is to us like we are to Him. We are repaid in kind, unless we repent and are forgiven.


The Power of God’s Help

Metaphorically in the next verse, hardship is darkness and deliverance is light:

2 Samuel 22:29-37 (NASB) 29 “For You are my lamp, O Lord; And the Lord illumines my darkness. 30 “For by You I can run upon [crush] a troop; By my God I can leap over a wall. 31 “As for God, His way is blameless [Lit complete; or having integrity]; The word of the Lord is tested; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 32 “For who is God, besides the Lord? And who is a rock, besides our God?

Isaiah 44:8 (ESV) Fear not, nor be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it? And you are my witnesses! Is there a God besides me? There is no Rock; I know not any.”

33 “God is my strong fortress; And He sets the blameless [Lit complete; or having integrity] in His way.

Compare this to Psalm 18:32; Hebrew- he has blamelessly set my way free, or he has made my way spring up blamelessly.

34 “He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me on my high places. 35 “He trains my hands for battle, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 36 “You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, And Your help makes me great. 37 “You enlarge my steps under me, And my feet have not slipped.

The singular of the word translated ‘high places’ can also mean “my back.” So YHVH Magen- The Lord, the Shield could be said to have had Dovid’s back.


Victory Over Enemies

2 Samuel 22:38-44a (NASB) 38 “I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, And I did not turn back until they were consumed. 39 “And I have devoured them and shattered them, so that they did not rise; And they fell under my feet. 40 “For You have girded me with strength for battle; You have subdued [Lit caused to bow down] under me those who rose up against me. 41 “You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me, And I destroyed [Or silenced] those who hated me. 42 “They looked, but there was none to save; Even to the Lord, but He did not answer them. 43 “Then I pulverized them as the dust of the earth; I crushed and stamped them as the mire of the streets. 44a “You have also delivered me from the contentions of my people;

Whether on the battlefield or in the halls of power, Keren Yesha’- the Horn of My Salvation both trained and prepared Melech Dovid for the tasks He had set out for him; and He was with Dovid in all things.


Made Ruler of Nations

2 Samuel 22:44b-46 (NASB) You have kept me as head of the nations; A people whom I have not known serve me. “Foreigners pretend obedience to me; As soon as they hear, they obey me. “Foreigners lose heart, And come trembling out of their]fortresses.


Praise of God

This is what Christianity would call a Doxology.

2 Samuel 22:47-51 (NASB) 47 “The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock; And exalted be God, the rock of my salvation, 48 The God who executes vengeance for me, And brings down peoples under me, 49 Who also brings me out from my enemies; You even lift me above those who rise up against me; You rescue me from the violent man. 50 “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name. 51 “He is a tower of deliverance [Lit salvation] to His king, And shows lovingkindness to His anointed, To David and his descendants forever.”

Psalm 61:4 (ESV) Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah

Psalm 18:49-50 (ESV) For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing to your name. Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever.

1 Samuel 2:10 (ESV) The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”

Melech Dovid, as he reflected on all those years of danger and difficulty, did not dwell on the harshness of his life. Instead he saw the greatness yet gentleness of the One who said “Anochi Anochi hu’Menachem- I, I Am He Who Comforts You” (Isa 51:12). To Dovid, Elohim’s yoke was easy and the burden light:

Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV) Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”


There are many lessons we can take from this haftara: God’s omnipotence; God’s absolute sovereignty; His power to deliver; the necessity for our obedience of His law; that obedience is rewarded; and finally, life may be hard, but keep trusting and obeying and one day God will give you your own victory song. We may experience our fullest potential from the gentle hand of the Lord our M'lach HaGoel- Redeeming Angel.


This haftarah is also prophetic. It looks beyond Melech DOvid to Dovid’s Son (hyperbolically speaking), Yeshua Ha’Moshiach.

Verses 1-4 start the passage with praise for the One who saves him, followed by Dovid’s (a type of Yeshua) suffering in verses 5-7, even unto death as a fugitive from Melech Shaul. The intervention of Adonaiin verses 8-20 reflects the deliverance from death into a "spacious place" which Yeshua experienced as He conquered the limmitations of sin. The divine approbation of verses 21-28 presage the reward Yeshua holds for us if we stay in His love, keeping His . Our enemies, who are the enemies of Hashem Himself will be judged (verses 29-43) and we, and He will be exalted over them (verses 44-49) by Him into whose hands is committed all judgement:

John 5:22 (ESV) For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,

In that day Yeshua, Son of Melech Dovid  will be ‘head of nations’ (verse 44); and in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant verses 44-51 will become the actual norm:

2 Samuel 7:8-16 (ESV) Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

Dan C

Note: the same poem, with minor variations, is found in Psalm 18.

Resources: AMG-NASB, JPS Study TNK, W Wiersbe, MF Unger, Pastor Ed Cole, my father, Rav S and others

[alon]

This week's haftara.

The par'shah this week is Deuteronomy 321-52. There are a lot of writings here on excerpts from this, so instead of reviving it this month I'm going to encourage everyone to spend some time in the archives and read some of these things. Over the years there have been some very insightful people who've shared here.

Dan C