The Man of Bloodshed and of Peace

Scripture describes David as a man of bloodshed and says, “The LORD gave David victory everywhere he went” (1 Chron. 18:6; 22:8). David indeed subdued all of Israel’s enemies during his reign so that Solomon inherited a kingdom at peace (1 Chron. 22:18). As a warrior, then, David spilled a lot of blood. But the Bible calls him a man of bloodshed for another reason. David foreshadowed Christ who shed His own blood to deliver us from every enemy which oppressed us that we may dwell in His peaceful kingdom.

By dying, Christ destroyed the devil, crucified the sinful nature with its desires, freed us from sin, crucified the world, and tasted death for everyone (Heb. 2:14; Gal. 5:24; Rom. 6:6, 7; Gal. 6:14; Heb. 2:9). As believers, we all face these enemies, but it is not for us to struggle against them in order to defeat them. Jesus has already done this. Victory comes as we believe in the triumph of the cross. As we believe, the Holy Spirit will cause us to experience Christ’s death within. His death working within will liberate us from the oppression of our spiritual enemies.

While the Lord gave David victory everywhere he went, he was never at peace. The sword never departed from David’s kingdom (2 Sam. 12:10). Only under Solomon was Israel at peace. Solomon, in fact, means “peaceful” (1 Chron. 22:9).

Solomon is the risen Christ in type—King of kings, Son of God, builder of God’s temple (1 Chron. 17:11-14; 22:10; 2 Chron. 9:22, 23). Just as Solomon rested in the victory gained through David’s bloodshed, so the risen Christ rests and reigns by the victory of the cross. God destroyed Satan by the cross, but only through the resurrection did God put Satan under Jesus’s feet (Eph. 1:20-22). The old man was crucified with Christ, but the New Man came forth in the resurrection (Eph. 2:6, 21, 22). Jesus died to sin once for all, but it is only by the resurrection that He lives to God (Rom. 6:7, 10). The world was crucified through the cross of Christ, but the new creation came through His resurrection (Gal. 6:14; 2 Cor. 5:17). The ultimate sign of the rest of Solomon was the building of the temple, a work not possible for David, the man of bloodshed (1 Kings 5:3-5). Likewise, God’s temple in the Spirit could not be built by Christ in His death because the temple we are came forth in His resurrection (John 2:19; Eph. 2:21, 22).

As we know Christ in His death, then, we will meet our enemies face to face and fight them with our faith in the cross (1 Tim. 6:12). But as the Holy Spirit makes Christ’s resurrection real in our experience, we will know the rest of every enemy being under our feet, we will share in the reign of the prince of peace, we will live to God in newness, we will be built together.

The historical administrations of David and Solomon, then, show us two administrations of Christ—His death and resurrection. God’s eternal work was accomplished by both administrations. Consequently, we can see that His work in us will only be accomplished as we are subject to the Holy Spirit’s administration of death and resurrection within. We can expect to experience these two administrations, not once, but throughout our lives. The ascendancy of one or the other is completely under the Holy Spirit’s discretion and control. He will give us victory over particular sins, fleshly thinking, or demonic oppression by bringing us to a new apprehension of Christ’s death. We will then experience rest from, and authority over whatever opposed us as we walk in the newness of Christ’s resurrection. Looking at Bible maps, we can see that the amount of territory under Israel’s control was greatly expanded under the administrations of David and Solomon. This shows us that God’s kingdom control of us will expand as we are ruled by Christ, the Man of bloodshed and of peace.