The names and biographies of David’s 37 “mighty men” are recounted here. These men are not listed in chronological order of their service to King David. They are listed in a particular order to relay a very profound message about the life’s mission of the Messiah. The Messiah’s story is hiding in plain sight.
This passage is very similar to Psalm 18. Psalm 18 is probably an edited version used as a praise song to encourage those who have overcome some difficulty in life. While 2nd Samuel 22 is more autobiographical and unique to David’s heart. In 2nd Samuel 1–21 David, the warrior king, the “bloody man” is shown as a precursor to Messiah’s first coming. We see the suffering king who ultimately dies. After 2nd Samuel 22, David’s life is no longer a parallel to the Messiah’s. From this point on, Solomon is the Messianic figure, full of wisdom and peace, ruling over his subjects and even bringing foreigners under his kingship without war.
The stated cause of the drought-caused three-year famine was David’s failure to deal with the wrongs done to Gibeonites by the late ruler Saul. This chapter contains a number of details that uncannily parallel the life of Yeshua.
The gore in this chapter is there for a purpose, part of the big messianic prophecy in 2nd Samuel 15–20. There are multiple stories in this chapter that are worthy of attention and note. This chapter has lots of parallelism and chiastic structure. For example, the actions of Yoab (Joab) mirror those of the high priest and of Yehudah Ish-Kariot (Judas Iscariot) in his betrayal of Yeshua (Jesus).
This chapter gives us a new spin on the meaning of the term “good news.” The major people in 2nd Samuel 19 — Shemai, Mephiboshet and Barzillai — were involved in key events and had important traits later expressed in the life of Peter, particularly in how he responded to the death of Yeshua the Messiah.
Daniel elaborates on the chiastic structure of 2nd Samuel 15–20 by showing a couple of simpler chiastic structures in Numbers 7, which was discussed during the Torah study.
The one in 2nd Samuel is the largest chiastic structure that Daniel has presented so far. However, the focus of this chiastic structure, as in most chiastic structures, is the Messiah. God places these chiastic structures in the Bible to reveal clues about the role of the Messiah or events that will occur in the Messiah’s life on earth.
We are approaching a time when our minds should be centered on the words and deeds of the Messiah. We are called upon to examine our lives in preparation for the Passover. Are we living the way the Lord want us to live? In most Passover celebrations, we ignore or give brief mention to Yeshua’s betrayal at the hands of Judas Iscariot, one of His own Apostles. The bible tells us that Yeshua was glorified by this act, yet many in the Christian church heap lots of condemnation on Judas for what he did.