2 Samuel 22

I was wanting to read something out the Bible yesturday and was getting just a little bored with Hosea. So, I flipped through the pages and asked God to help me find something inspiring. I came the 2 Samuel 22 and began to read. I want to share with you for a moment an excerpt from this chapter.

 8 “The earth trembled and quaked,
       the foundations of the heavens ^[c] shook;
       they trembled because he was angry.

 9 Smoke rose from his nostrils;
       consuming fire came from his mouth,
       burning coals blazed out of it.

 10 He parted the heavens and came down;
       dark clouds were under his feet.

 11 He mounted the cherubim and flew;
       he soared ^[d] on the wings of the wind.

 12 He made darkness his canopy around him—
       the dark ^[e] rain clouds of the sky.

 13 Out of the brightness of his presence
       bolts of lightning blazed forth.

 14 The LORD thundered from heaven;
       the voice of the Most High resounded.

 15 He shot arrows and scattered the enemies ,
       bolts of lightning and routed them.

 16 The valleys of the sea were exposed
       and the foundations of the earth laid bare
       at the rebuke of the LORD,
       at the blast of breath from his nostrils.

Think about this image. Here we see God coming down out of heaven with such rage and power that all kinds of horrifying storms accompany Him. Read it again. Can you see it? And so I ask you, “What kind of thing could cause this sort of reaction from the Creator of the universe?” Surely, this is an image of the Final Judgement on the earth, right? Wrong. Read what is written in these verses directly before it…

 5 “The waves of death swirled about me;
       the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

 6 The cords of the grave ^[b] coiled around me;
       the snares of death confronted me.

 7 In my distress I called to the LORD;
       I called out to my God.
       From his temple he heard my voice;
       my cry came to his ears.

and the ones immediately afterwards:

 17 “He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
       he drew me out of deep waters.

 18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
       from my foes, who were too strong for me.

 19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
       but the LORD was my support.

 20 He brought me out into a spacious place;
       he rescued me because he delighted in me.

“I cried out to my God. From my temple he heard my voice;” You see, God came storming down out of heaven with all power and majesty just because one of his children called for his help and he heard their cry. David sang this song after being rescued from the hand of Saul, the man who was bent on seeing him dead. What amazing imagery this is. God really does care about us and is anxious to save us from our enemies and to save us from ourselves. We need only to humble ourselves and give everything over into his control. When we are experiencing our own hells, we need to remember that He is sitting and waiting, ready to tear down heaven’s door to rush in and save us if only we let him.