2 Samuel 22:22-25 “I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not acted wickedly against my God. For all His ordinances were before me, and as for His statutes, I did not depart from them. I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness before His eyes.”
Observation: David celebrated God’s deliverance and protection. This passage is a fascinating statement of David’s position before the Lord. He declares his cleanness and innocence, his devotion to God’s Word, his purity in God’s eyes, his blamelessness.
Application: Yet this is also the same David who was a confessed murderer! How does that work in the Old Testament when Christ had not yet come and the new covenant of freedom had not yet been established? How is it that in the Old Testament salvation and cleansing and deliverance could be secured?
The key seems to be David’s repentant heart. He had been quick to confess his sin when confronted by the reality of it, and he turned with renewed commitment to God’s Word, the very Word that John would years later say became flesh in the person of Christ.
God has always made a way for His lovers to find salvation. It did not begin with Christ’s ministry on the earth. It did not begin with baptism. Rather, it began in God Himself, long before Christ’s advent. This was confirmed by Paul, who wrote in Romans 1:19–20 that God has made Himself known—visible—to all men since the beginning of time; thus we are all without excuse.
How thankful I am that God is unchanging. His ways, His character, have been established since before the foundation of the world. His love for me has been from the beginning and was made visible and is now being made visible to those in the remotest parts of the globe. Whether they have heard the gospel of Christ or not, all will be accountable for their response to this “visible God.” My mind cannot comprehend how God can write His law of love on men’s hearts, but He does; David’s embracing of that reality is wonderful evidence of the freedom that results.
Prayer: Father, I am so grateful that You have had a plan of redemption for me since before You created mankind. Thank You for Jesus, who came to manifest Your eternal plan in the flesh, showing by His example how You want me to live. One aspect of heaven I eagerly anticipate is to meet the Old Testament believers in You, for their faith enabled them to come to You without the help of the covenant established through Christ Jesus. Give me their measure of love and devotion, Father. I bless Your holy name.