The Lamp of David
The God who is faithful
It is written about David that he was a man after God’s own heart.
God says to Saul:
But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people, because you have not kept the LORD’s command. (1 Samuel 13:14, NIV)
After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” (Acts 13:22, NIV)
Except for one incident, David did all he could to live his life to honour God in everything.
As a result of this God promised him, he would have a descendant on the throne. This is expressed as a lamp, a promise made to the House of David:
I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name. (1 Kings 11:36, NIV)
Not only was God a lamp to David’s feet and a light to his path…
Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. (Psalm 119:105, NIV)
God made a promise that David’s lamp would not be extinguished.
As a result of David’s heart for God, the Tribe of Judah would remain a royal line centered on Jerusalem.
But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, “Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.” (2 Samuel 21:17, NIV)
Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for my anointed one. (Psalm 132:17, NIV)
“A lamp for David; it’s an evocative image, a picture of an eternal flame burning in the midst of turmoil and destruction, of the lights still on at home while a people get dragged off into exile. It’s a picture of hope.” (Matt’s Bible Blog)
I am deeply impacted by how many times it says that God acted for the lamp of David.
Nevertheless, for David’s sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem by raising up a son to succeed him and by making Jerusalem strong. (1 Kings 15:4, NIV)
Nevertheless, because of the covenant the LORD had made with David, the LORD was not willing to destroy the house of David. He had promised to maintain a lamp for him and his descendants forever. (2 Chronicles 21:7, NIV)
Nevertheless, for the sake of his servant David, the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah. He had promised to maintain a lamp for David and his descendants forever. (2 Kings 8:19, NIV)
Generations after David’s death God was still thinking of him and keeping His promise to him despite the actions, attitudes and sometimes outright blatant disobedience and rebellion of the people. God continued to keep in mind His promise to David and His plan for his people.
It is mind-blowing how God brings about His plans by men, for men and sometimes in spite of men.
He has a plan and a purpose, and He is going to perform it!
When God makes a promise, He binds himself to it, so that it is continuous even after the lifetime of the individual He was dealing with.
I am reminded
that is because of who He is,
not who we are.
Yes, God was moved by David’s faithfulness to Him and his heart attitude. This alone ought to be both convicting and encouraging. God sees our hearts and it matters to Him.
When He makes a promise, He is faithful not merely in the act of being faithful to keep it, although this is abundantly true, but He is faithful to who He is. Faithfulness is the makeup of His very being, not just what He does.
He cannot stop being faithful, or any of His other attributes, any more than He can stop being God.
God is faithfulness personified. God is just, God is pure, God is kind, God is forgiving, God is merciful, God is love… it is who He is.
God remembers He is the alpha and omega, He is the beginning and the end, He remembers everything except when He chooses to forgive and forget. It is washed away by the blood of His precious Son.
We never have to question His promise — is it still true, does He still love me…? The answer is always a resounding yes, not because of who we are, or what we have, or have not done, but absolutely by who He is!
David was a man after God’s own heart and God was his lamp, light, and guide. He also wants to be our lamp, light, and guide and He can be trusted because of who He is.
