And when David had ended offering up the burnt-offerings and the peace-offerings, he blessed the people in the name of Jehovah of hosts.
David has brought the ark into the tent he pitched for it, and he has finished the offerings. Now the king turns to the crowd and blesses them — in a name that belongs to God alone.
Timing matters here. The blessing only starts once the offerings are finished. The two offerings named also mean different things.
They brought the ark into the place prepared for it. Then come burnt offerings and peace offerings — what is for the heart and pleasure of God, and also what His people can feed on in His presence in communion with Him. Once the sacrifices are offered, the king "blessed the people in the name of the LORD." He handed out to them what would nourish them and make their hearts glad.
That order is not an accident. The same pattern shows up with Aaron the priest:
The moment Aaron had finished offering the sacrifices, he could bless the people. Until that moment he had never acted that way toward them. But once all was rightly offered, he did not wait a moment. This teaches us as well as them, because it shows us on what ground people can be blessed — the acceptance of the sacrifice. Apart from Christ's death, pictured in the offerings, this could not have taken place. As soon as God has accepted the sacrifice, He can righteously bless.
David does not bless in his own name. He blesses in the name of the LORD of hosts — a title that first appears in Israel's story at a low point, not a high one.
We do not meet this name until 1 Samuel 1:3. It came in with prophetic testimony. Faith laid hold of the LORD's glory when Israel had corrupted themselves and were weak and low. Scripture reveals a mighty heavenly host, and rulers and powers in the unseen world. God is the God of them all, as well as God of all the elements of nature… The LORD of hosts dwelt between the cherubim.
That last line matters. David had just placed the ark, with its cherubim, inside the tent. He blesses in the name of the God who dwells there.
David offers and David blesses. Both belong to the priesthood, yet he is king. Commentators see a deliberate picture here.
The king was clothed with a linen ephod, the distinctive garment of the priests. Here we see him once more become a type of Christ in His future glory… Here we have kingship united to priesthood. Blessing goes up from the people to God by David's mouth. And blessing comes down from God on all the people through His mediator.
What gives the moment its weight is when it happens. Blessing comes while opposition still stands, not after every enemy is gone.
In all this part of the history David is more personally a type of Christ. He restores the people's connection with God. He blesses and feeds them as Melchizedek did. And he does this while difficulty still exists — before the reign of peace, when power will have removed every obstacle to enjoying it fully. Blessing flows from his person in the presence of all that still opposes it, despite every difficulty… He is not a priest on his throne. The king makes himself a priest, and he does this while he is still serving.
This blessing sits in a chain. David worships God first, then blesses the nation, then his own home.
He had worshipped God, the giver of all good. Now his thoughts turned to His people: "he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts." He also provided generously for their physical needs. Then, his public ministry over, he was not forgetful of his domestic relationships. "And David returned to bless his household."
Others read the whole event forward, as a small-scale model of a greater reign still to come.
This is a picture of what the Lord Jesus will do when He becomes the King in Israel. He will establish the true worship of God. Then Israel will become the centre from which God's blessing will flow out to the whole earth.
- Ground: Blessing comes only after the offerings are finished. It rests on an accepted sacrifice, not on the people who receive it.
- Name: David blesses in the name of the LORD of hosts — the God of every power in heaven and earth, who dwells between the cherubim.
- Mediator: Praise goes up through David's mouth, and blessing comes back down through him — a king wearing the priest's linen, blessing as Melchizedek did.
- Timing: The blessing flows out while opposition still stands, not after every enemy is gone.
- Reach: From God, to the nation, to his own household — and one day out to the whole earth, under Christ as King.
And he dealt to all the people, to the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, to every one a cake of bread, and a measure [of wine], and a raisin-cake. And all the people departed every one to his house.
The ark now rests in the tent David pitched for it, and the offerings are over. Why does a day of worship end with the king putting bread, meat and raisin cakes into every hand, and nobody going home empty?
The handing out of food is the last step in a sequence. Offerings come first, then blessing, then the meal each person carries home.
The ark has been brought into the place prepared for it. Now come burnt offerings and peace offerings. One is for the heart and pleasure of God. The other is food His people can eat in His presence, in communion with Him. After the sacrifices, the king "blessed the people in the Name of the Lord," and gave out food that would nourish them and make their hearts glad. What memories the people must have carried home from that glad day!
Another writer links David's open hand to a promise God made about Zion.
David has offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and has blessed the people. Now he hands to every one, man and woman alike, a loaf of bread, a good piece of meat, and a flagon of wine. For God will richly bless her provision, and satisfy her poor with bread.
Older English versions read "a flagon of wine" here. The ESV has "a cake of raisins." The difference comes down to one Hebrew word.
The Authorised Version treated ashishah as a measure. It is now generally understood to mean a "cake of raisins" — raisins pressed into a cake, in the same way figs are. In 2 Samuel 6:19 and 1 Chronicles 16:3 the words "of wine" were added.
The verse names the whole crowd, women as well as men. One writer draws a practical lesson from that.
When God is given His true place, it is inevitable that the people will be blessed. David delighted to bless them in the name of the Lord of hosts. More than this, he gave food to every adult in Israel, women as well as men. Each one received a loaf of bread, a good-sized piece of meat and a cake of raisins. This shows too that those who give the Lord His place will also be glad to be generous toward others.
The king does not stand above the crowd. He waits on it. The same day that sees him dance before the ark sees him serve the food.
He blesses the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. Then, dressed like a servant ready for work, he has them sit down to eat, and he serves them. He dances before the ark with the joy of a man whose only joy was to serve another's praise. He would gladly go lower still, be low in his own eyes, and be counted among the outcasts. He wanted only to carry out his service properly, as the minister of the glory of Jehovah, and of the joy of His people.
Where did such freedom come from? Another writer points to what David had stopped thinking about — himself.
At the same time, we are never so blessed as when we can forget ourselves in the glory of God. This is what marked out King David.
One writer sees David's generosity as a small preview of a greater day, when the ark reaches its final home.
When the day of the glory of the kingdom comes, He, as Melchizedek, will hand out bread and wine to the men of faith. When the ark reaches its final resting place in Mount Zion, the Lord will do again what David did — and far exceed it... He also said, "Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them" (Luke 12:37).
Another writer finds an advance taste of that abundance in the feeding of the five thousand.
The Lord Jesus gave a foretaste of that feeding time when He fed the five thousand. The people were so excited by that miracle that they were ready to take Him by force and make Him King (John 6:15). He refused their desire... When the hour for the appointed Kingdom comes, He will receive it neither from men nor from Satan, but from the Father.
- Sequence. Offerings first, blessing next, bread last — the people's portion comes after God has received His.
- Gift. Each person receives from the king's own hand: a loaf, a good piece of meat, a cake of raisins (older versions: "a flagon of wine").
- Reach. Women as well as men, the whole crowd — the giving passed nobody by, and each went home carrying the king's gift.
- Posture. The king serves. David could give freely because he had forgotten himself in the glory of God.
- Result. The day points forward. When the ark reaches its final resting place in Zion, the Lord will far exceed David's bounty. He Himself will serve those who wait for Him.