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Acts 13:20b–23
“Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised” (v. 23).
Given the chance to address the synagogue audience in Pisidian Antioch, Paul took the opportunity in his “word of encouragement” to proclaim the gospel (Acts 13:13–16). His goal was to explain the significance of the life and work of Jesus in the context of Israel’s history, so he began his sermon with a brief summary of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and conquest of the promised land (vv. 17–20a). In today’s passage, we see that Paul continued his survey of Israel’s history, taking the audience through the period of the judges up to the covenant with David.
Paul rehearsed the period of the judges in just one sentence, reminding the people of the tribal leaders who delivered Israel from various enemies until the days of Samuel (v. 20b). The period of the judges proved Israel’s need of a king who would rule in righteousness, for in the days of the judges, when there was no king, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25). But the first king of Israel was not the righteous leader that the people needed. When the people asked for a king, they wanted a king like those of the other nations, one who would glory in himself and not in the Lord. So Saul sat on the throne for forty years but forfeited the right to have his own descendants succeed him as king (Acts 13:21; see 1 Sam. 8–15).
After Saul’s removal from the throne, God graciously intervened to give the people a good king—David, the man after the Lord’s own heart (Acts 13:22; see 1 Sam. 16). David, of course, was not a perfect man. He sinned grievously by committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband, Uriah, killed in battle (2 Sam. 11). He was a man after God’s own heart when the whole scope of his life is considered, for although David sinned, he repented and sincerely pursued godliness (2 Sam. 12; Ps. 51). John Calvin comments that David is rightly called the man after God’s own heart because “God had respect rather unto the continual course of his life, than unto every of his particular actions.”
In setting David on the throne of Israel and entering into covenant with him, God was actually acting for the eternal good of His people. The Lord pledged to put David’s line on the throne forever and to raise up offspring to rule in righteousness (2 Sam. 7). Ultimately, God fulfilled this promise by sending His own Son to be the promised Son of David and Savior of the world (Acts 13:23).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
God’s grace is evident throughout the history of Israel in that He preserved the nation’s existence and did not turn away from them when they looked for the wrong kind of king. He did not abandon David even when he sinned grievously against Him. God delights to show grace, to mercifully forgive His people and to be patient with us, disciplining us for our sin so that we turn to Him in repentance. Let us thank Him for His grace this day.
For further study
- 1 Chronicles 17
- Jeremiah 33:14–26
- Luke 1:67–79
- Romans 1:1–4
The bible in a year
- 2 Chronicles 23–25
- John 16:16–33