186. Saved from Enemies
2 Samuel 3:18 Now then do it: for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.
Abner is seeking the get the elders of Israel to really around David and make him their king. He repeats a word of the Lord about David, and unwittingly declares a promise for all believers in Jesus Christ. And the Bible is full of the promise of salvation. The salvation Jesus earned for us and gave to us is salvation from our enemies. The war between good and evil is won by Jesus’ death and life. Our spiritual enemies have been defeated and they have no more power over us.
The Bible Story rewords the promise this way: “By the hand of my servant Jesus I will save you, my people, out of the hand of your present problem and out of the hand of all your enemies.” It is, of course, the promised Messiah who will come from heaven to earth to save us from Sin, Death, Hell, and the power of the Devil. Our Enemy surrounds us looking like the world and our own sinful, selfish flesh. We need a Champion, a Warrior, a Commander, a King to save us. We have one. This is how God loved us: He gave us one.
David was a type, a figure, a shadow of the greater Son of David, showing us in physical terms what the spiritual reality is. Jesus is the Servant by the hand of which God saves His people. The angel told Joseph, “You will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is the one whom the whole history of David points to, and He is the one who is born into the world out of the history of Israel.
We apply the promise to our hearts and lives daily through repentance and faith in the Gospel. We believe God gave us Jesus to save us. We believe that we are under the threat and control of enemies, from which we need salvation. That story is not just history; that story plays out in our everyday life when our Lord deals with the issues that threaten us. David and Jesus were men after the heart of God. When we believe in Jesus we also know the heart of God: it is total, absolute, unconditional, and overwhelming Love.