Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 22

God rescues David from the evil spirits that wanted to take his life

2 Samuel 22:16-17

Fierce enemies were trying to attack David and to kill him. They almost succeeded – but David appealed to God in prayer.

David saw that this was not merely a physical battle between two groups of men. It was not even mainly a physical battle. It was a battle in the spirit world. So, David’s real enemies were not men, but evil spirits. It was death and the devil and hell that were trying to take away his life (verses 5 and 6).

That was why God was so angry. David belonged to God, and those evil spirits had no right to take him away from God. Already, David’s troubles had become like waves that passed over his head (verse 5). Already, David felt as if he was in his grave (verse 6).

So, God came to rescue him. So, there was an earthquake – when the earth shakes. However, this was not an ordinary earthquake, because heaven shook too (verse 8). God was acting powerfully in both the natural world and the spirit world.

Then there was a storm. This too was not an ordinary storm. God was riding above the clouds (verses 10 and 11). In the noise of the storm, God was declaring his judgments against his wicked enemies (verse 14). Those were not ordinary words. Verse 16 says that they came with the power of his ‘breath’. In the Hebrew language, the word for breath is RUACH, which we usually translate ‘Spirit’. God sent his Spirit to act in the situation.

The result was to uncover the bottom of the sea and the deepest places of the earth. If waves had covered David (verse 5), God would rescue him from there (compare Jonah chapter 2). If David were already in his grave, God would lift him out (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 40:1-2). For David, these were word-pictures, but their meaning was clear. It was God who rescued David from his enemies.

Next part: God deserves all the honour (2 Samuel 22:18-19)

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