Deuteronomy 32:7 - Meaning and Application

This book tells the story of King David’s reign. In the earlier book, we read how he was chosen to rule and how he struggled with Saul, his persecutor, until Saul died. This book begins with David taking the throne, and it follows the events of the forty years he ruled. That is why the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, calls it the Third Book of the Kings.

The book shows both David’s victories and his troubles. It first tells of his triumphs over Saul’s family, over the Jebusites and Philistines, at the bringing up of the ark, and over the nearby nations that fought against him (chapters 1 to 10). All of this fits what we might expect from David’s character and from God’s choice of him.

But his life also has a dark side. The book then tells of David’s troubles and their causes, especially his sin in the matter of Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba (chapters 11 and 12). It also records the troubles that came from the sin of Amnon, David’s son, the rebellion of Absalom, another son, and of Sheba, as well as the plague in Israel that came from David’s numbering the people (chapters 13 to 24). It also includes the famine that came because of the Gibeonites. Along the way, we hear David’s song of praise in chapter 22 and read his last words and the accounts of his mighty men in chapter 23.

There is much here to teach us. Yet even though David often appears very great, very good, and greatly favored by heaven, his honor shines brighter in his Psalms than in his historical record.