2 Samuel 22 is an amazing chapter. In it we read the song of David which the Old Testament warrior penned in exultation because God had delivered him from all his enemies.
I am struck by the power of these images.
In my distress I called to the LORD ;
I called out to my God.
From his temple he heard my voice;
my cry came to his ears.
“The earth trembled and quaked,
the foundations of the heavens shook;
they trembled because he was angry.
Smoke rose from his nostrils;
consuming fire came from his mouth,
burning coals blazed out of it.
He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
He mounted the cherubim and flew;
he soared on the wings of the wind.2 Samuel 22:7-11 (NIV)
The thought of the Lord mounting his cherubim and soaring on the wings of the wind . . . it sends chills down my spine. The dictionary defines the Cherubim as, basically, composite beings; the winged footstool and chariot of the Almighty. I can’t even picture that. Selah, indeed . . .
God heard David’s cry and He, basically, opened up a can on David’s enemies. The “entrance” God makes in the poetry of David as He comes to his rescue, well, is it not awesome? It takes seven verses just to describe it (2 Sam 22:8-14), and that’s just the entrance! Darkness envelops Him, bright light streams forth, bolts of lightening, His thunderous voice! We serve a mighty God!
And it fills me with awe that these apocalyptic images describe God’s rescue of David. For most of my Christian life the word “rescue” has held special significance. As one of my favorite worship songs puts it:
To come to my rescue
Where else can I go?
Just as David needed to be delivered from his earthly enemies, so we need to be delivered from our spiritual enemy, the accuser of our souls and the father of the iniquity we are born into. And the work of Christ to save us from our sin is the rescue and His fame and the wonder of His heroism echo resoundingly in eternity. The older I get the more I understand – there is no where else I can go, and no other place I want to be other than in God’s hands.
“He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the LORD was my support.
He brought me out into a spacious place;
he rescued me because he delighted in me.
Amazing. Our Father stands ever ready to come to our defense, to rescue us from our powerful enemy. Because He delights in His children.
I need You, Jesus, to come to my rescue.
“I need You, Jesus, to come to my rescue.”
Wow. How true is that.
Chris Rice wrote some wonderful lyrics a while back: “I need a hero/Please come and find me/Come to my rescue/And crash through the wall/Announce my freedom/Bring me to my senses/Gather me into Your strong arms/And carry me home to safety.” 2 Samuel 22 in more childlike terms.
Bill,
Thank you very much for your devotional posts. I really appreciate them. I particularly enjoy that they are taken from books of the Bible that are, or seem to be, seldom read.
How is it that you have come to reading the Old Testament with this regularity? Are you following a particular devotional guide?
Thanks for the time and energy that you are using to keep the blog running and thanks for the thought that goes into each post.
Brian
Thank you Manders and Brian – your encouragement is so appreciated.
Brian – the answer to your question about why I’m pulling so much OT stuff recently: I don’t know 🙂 For whatever reason, though, writing these devotionals has been such a help to me. If no one read them I’d still be writing them, and I hope that God continues to inspire me through his word daily (whether or not I’m able to scrawl out my often scattered thoughts about it or not).
That is why time with The Word of the Lord is so great! Reading it once, reading it again, digging a little, the Bible is part of that spring of Living Water. It is Life and it is vital. I know you know all this but it is good for me to put it down and see it. We are all reading something different from different places but it all edifys!
Well said, Brian.
What is it about Brians? I always wanna say “ditto” to everything BnF says! 🙂
I like the speed of this site, btw. Not sure if it’s the software, or the new host, but it’s very cool.
wow. yeah. i LOVE “rescue” too. it’s great, huh?