The Christian and Old Testament Theology

Transcription

1 The Christian and Old Testament Theology OT509 LESSON 14 of 24 Walt C. Kaiser, Ph.D. Experience: President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Old Testament and Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts OK, Lecture 14, The Theology of Messiah s Dynasty and Kingdom. We want to take up here that great text in II Samuel 7, which I think is the central showpiece in the Messianic doctrine and, therefore, sets the basis for the discussion in the prophets. Along with II Samuel 7, we have Psalm 89, which is the greatest commentary ever written on II Samuel 7. That s the one that starts, I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known (His) [thy] faithfulness to all generations. And that beautiful word, I will sing of, that word, hesed, which is the most difficult word, and yet the most beautiful word in the whole Old Testament. When the Revised Standard Version was translated, regardless of what you think of that translation, they did do a rather beautiful symbolic act. And that is, they translated the whole testament and left 250 spots, which were the spots reserved for this word. What English word, they queried, will best interpret this Hebrew word, hesed. And so they kept on going back and forth, finally had to indicate there was no one really single word to bring it across and settled on, covenantal love, loyal fidelity, and a number of words like this. The old King James translated it, mercy, or loving kindness, or words like that. It basically is the Old Testament word for, grace. It s a freebie, God s riches at Messiah s expense, is really what lies at the heart of this great word. But, of course, it is also used of covenantal love between Jonathan and David, and so there was hesed between them too, as well. But it is one of the great words and so that Psalm begins, I will sing of the graces of the mercies, of the unmerited favors of God, with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. And he s off describing this wonderful plan, that s Psalm 89. And, of course, with it too are the Royal Psalms. The Royal Psalms that are found in the Psalter. So, in II Samuel 7 we find a new 1 of 14

2 addition to God s promise-plan, it s probably the third most significant moment in all of recorded Old Testament history. If I were to put sort of four mountain peaks, as it were, of the great promise doctrine, especially as it speaks of its central feature this is not the totality of the doctrine, but its Christocentrism then we would have to make Genesis 3:15 one of the great moments, Genesis 12:2-3 the second great moment, II Samuel 7 the third great moment, and Jeremiah 31:31-34, the fourth great moment. So, we ve got four mountain peaks, as it were, in the Old Testament. If you can master these you certainly are getting a handle on it. Some people say there s so much detail there, how can I ever begin to penetrate to it? Well, work on these four texts, Genesis 3:15, Genesis 12, the first three verses mainly, especially verse 2 and 3, the whole of II Samuel 7, and Jeremiah, the new covenant passage, 31: Now, first of all, we take up the connection between the previous promise doctrine, and the promise now made to David. For we ve talked about the patriarchal Mosaic and pre-monarchial promise that had been made up to this point. Let s look at the connection, first of all, with regard to the contents of the promise made to David. We will find that there are the same promises being repeated to David that we had seen being given to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Moses, and to those who were the elders in Israel and the judges. First of all, the seed promised to David. There is that great word in II Samuel 7:12, where he says, When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your (seed) [offspring] to succeed you, (this seed which) [who] will come (out of) [from] your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. And then he goes on to say, verse 14, I will be his father, and he will be my son. And so there is quite a discussion about this seed. I submit to you that this seed is the same one promised to Eve, promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So, we have continuity here, that s the word that appeared so frequently beginning with Genesis 12:7, but even back in Genesis 3:15. And then elaborated on particularly in Genesis 15 when we come to the great chapter on justification by faith. And then the covenant sealing in Genesis 17:7-10 and 19, there is the seed. Secondly, as to contents, it too is unconditional. Like the promise made to Abraham in which only God as the smoking furnace 2 of 14

3 walked between the pieces and, therefore, made it a unilateral not a bilateral covenant. So, here too, it is only one in which God obligates himself. One of the great Psalms in the Royal Psalms comments on this in great detail. It is also called one of the Psalms of Ascent, Psalm 132. Psalm 132:10-11, For the sake of David your servant, do not reject (your Messiah,) your anointed one. The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath that he will not revoke. He will not revoke. One of your own (seed) [descendants] I will place on your throne that was the promise God made and though in II Samuel 7 there is never a mention of oath, like there was a vow, made in Genesis, Chapter 22. So that by two says Hebrews 6 immutable, unshakable, unchangeable things in which it s impossible for God to lie, that is His word and His oath, number one and number two. The word of God, Genesis 12. The oath of God, Genesis 22. We, who are now in the New Testament times, we might have a strong consolation, a solid hope. So, here too, God gave an oath along with His word and what was His oath that He cannot, He will not, revoke? It was one of your own (seed) [descendants] I will place on your throne. And then goes on to speak of a kingdom and a dynasty that is given to him. Now, it is true there are a number of passages which also, like in the patriarchal narrative, bring up a conditional matter. There are conditional aspects to this covenant. Even though I ve argued that only God passed between the pieces and obligated himself, yet on the other hand, there is this constant reminder which speaks of the fact that if he does sin for example, it comes up in the passage I just read to you, Psalm 132:12, if your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I teach them, then your sons will sit on (the) [your] throne forever and ever. But yet God had sworn with an oath, he will not revoke it. Now, what is this iffiness? Why the condition of obedience when God says that it is irrevocable? Isn t this a contradiction in the space of one verse? Having said in verse 11, God will not revoke it, yet on the other hand he said, if your sons fail to keep this covenant then he said, they won t sit on the throne. How are we to explain that? Or, let s go to the greatest Psalm, which is the commentary, at least, the greatest commentary on II Samuel 7, Psalm 89. Psalm 89 had just said here in verses 26 following the 3 of 14

4 son will call out to God the Father, you are my father, my Rock, my God, my savior, I will appoint him my firstborn here comes that title back we have seen in Exodus 4:22, Israel is my son, my firstborn the most exalted of the kings of the earth, I will maintain my love to him forever, my covenant with him will never fail. There again, it s irrevocable. I will establish his line forever, his throne, as long as the heavens endure. But, now verse 30 of Psalm 89, (But) if his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, if they violate my decrees and fail to keep my commands, I will punish their sin with (a) [the] rod, their iniquity with flogging, but I will not take my love from (them) [him], nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have (spoken) [uttered]. Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness and I will not lie to David that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in (heaven) [the sky]. Selah. So, you have here this theme of, if his sons forsake my law and do not follow my statutes, how then are we to describe this conditional aspect of an unconditional covenant, which in the very context once again, he says, but I won t violate my covenant. If the sons forsake my law and if they sin, I ll punish their sin and their iniquity with flogging, but I will not betray my love. And it seems to me, that the answer must be, that some members in the line can forfeit their participation in the benefits. Let me draw an arrow here for you, a long arrow, and this I will represent as the line; l-i-n-e, the line of David. So here we have the succession of seeds; after David comes Solomon, then comes Rehoboam, etc., they keep on going all the way down to our Lord Jesus, and he comes from the house and the lineage of David. Now, what the text is saying, sin may indeed bring disastrous effects and they may not, they may the text is saying here they may not participate personally in the benefits, they may not participate personally in the benefits. So, below the line I will put here, they may not personally participate in the benefits, because of lack of faith, or because of lack of obedience. Lack of obedience, here in this case, in terms of consistency of faith, in the first case never having believing faith at all. So you ve got two conditions here, whereby, they may fail to personally come to full realization, either to belong to the family 4 of 14

5 of God, or to experience full whole life, what it means to be totally part of the family of God. Yet, on the other hand, they must and they will transmit, they must and they will transmit, the benefits to the succeeding seed as they pass it on. That seems to be the inviolable part of it. This is where the benefits of that covenant must be passed on, and it seems to me that this is the correct way to understand this group of texts which I ve only given you two samples, but there must be on the order between a half-dozen and a dozen texts. Where in the space of the same context and the same verses. Not that they are from different documents, that s an easy way out. To say, well, one, the conditional comes from one document, and the unconditional comes from the other document. Bully for the person who says that. That s too easy. Come, give me some sources for some evidence for that, rather than trying to solve it by saying two different writers had two different points of view. For the text is deliberately acknowledging that, unless you also want to invent another hypothesis, and that is, a redactor who smoothes it out and included both in the same kind of context. But one way you always know that you re dealing with a dead horse is when you ve got to keep propping it up. Now, some scholarly work reminds me of that too as well. There is another sort of aspect here which says that we re dealing with the same content, not only is it the same seed and the same unconditional promise, but it is the same kingly line. In Genesis 17:6 and 16, Abraham was told that kings would come out of his loins. And again, in Genesis 35:11. And in the Balaam prophecies in Numbers 24:7. And again, it continues going on, in Deuteronomy 17, it was God s intention to bring in the line of this promised seed one who would be royalty, who would be a priest, and a king, and a prophet. But it is the kingly aspect here that we deal with in the Messianic theme. Well, lo and behold, that s exactly what we are being told in II Samuel, Chapter 7:12, once again. For there in this magnificent text he is told that, I will establish his kingdom. And he goes on to speak in verse 16 that, He would have a throne, and a dynasty and a kingdom forever. So, we are not surprised even though there is development here, there is development in that he is being given, not only an authority, a throne, but also a sphere of authority, a reign and a 5 of 14

6 realm. Otherwise known as a kingdom of God. There is a fourth similarity and that is, the foreverness, the eternal aspect of it. Had that not been the word emphasized in Genesis 17 numerous times, almost a half-dozen times? The word occurs to Abraham, I have given you this covenant forever. It is an everlasting covenant, it is eternal. So, what do we have in II Samuel 7:13, 16, and 29, this is the word that occurs over and over again. This blessing will be a blessing forever, this covenant will be a covenant forever, this seed will be a seed forever. It is an everlasting; it is an eternal covenant of God. Again, this is another similarity and a connection with the previous promise doctrine. A fifth similarity between the promises previously stated, and now this one given to David in II Samuel 7, is that it is restated just at the time that Deuteronomy 12:9-10, and Deuteronomy 25:19 it said it would come. That is, when Jehovah Yahweh, would cut off Israel s enemies and give them rest that is the time God would send the next installment in His plan. So how does II Samuel 7:1 and 11 begin? After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all of his enemies, that was the signal. That was the signal that had been spoken of back in Deuteronomy, Chapter 12. Let me read those texts for you, Deuteronomy 12:9-10. There it says, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. But you will cross [the] Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all of your enemies (round about, so that you may dwell in safety) [around you so that you will live in safety]. And the same thing with 25:19. But more than that, a sixth similarity. The phraseology of the Abrahamic and Mosaic promises continues. We can t go into all of these, but certainly some will begin to give us the thread of meaning here. For example, he will say, in II Samuel 7:24, the last phrase in that 24th verse, that God has become their God. That reminds us of that tripartite formula: I will be your God, you shall be my people and I will dwell in the midst of you. That had started, I will be your God, in Genesis 17:7 and 18, and had continued multiple times, we almost have two dozen times now by the time we get here to II Samuel 7:24. 6 of 14

7 He had also said you shall be my people. And what does II Samuel 7:26 say? God has come to redeem a people for Himself for His name. {This really is found in verse 23}And so again, you have the continuation of that same theme, but now even more startling. Look at the unusual construction in II Samuel 7:23, it is odd to those who read it in the original text. It says there, And who is like your people Israel the one nation on earth that God (have gone to redeem a people for himself) [went out to redeem as a people for himself,] That God have gone it uses actually there a plural verb and, therefore, I have committed the grammatical infelicity in order for you to hear what is here in this text. Why did the writer make this single grammatical mistake at this point? It preserves the same oddity, if I may say so, that is found in Deuteronomy 4:7-8. In other words, out of the Mosaic instruction here is a deliberate connecting of ideas. From Deuteronomy 4:7-8 where it says, What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? And whenever we pray to him. [And] what other nation is so great as to have [such] righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today? And so he goes on in that particular context with the same words there. So what other nation is so great as our God who have gone. And, so you have the same unusual construction repeated here too as well. Two more oddities here, note too the unusual name in II Samuel 7. In II Samuel 7, there is a word that is only used in this chapter, nowhere else in I Samuel, II Samuel, the rest of the historical books or Chronicles; it only appears at five other times besides Genesis 15:2 and 8. And that is the name Adonai Yahweh. Adonai, which means, Lord (with lower case) and Yahweh, which is generally spelled, LORD (with capital letters all upper case). So we have Lord LORD, literally is the word he is using here, Adonai Yahweh. But, the interesting thing is, that word had been the special word used by Abraham in Genesis 15:2 and 8, when he had the vision of God passing between the pieces. And there when the covenant was sealed with Abraham, he called him Adonai Yahweh. Now, when the covenant is being sealed with David, he calls him Adonai Yahweh. It is more than coincidental, it is more than coincidental, you may only find it in five other passages in the total Bible, five other passages. So it is remarkable. It is remarkable. Then one more and that is the connection in II Samuel 7:14, I will be a father to him. That brings out the reference there, he will be 7 of 14

8 my son and I will be a father to him. It reminds us of the Exodus 4:22-23, Israel is my son, my firstborn. It reminds us, too, of the passage in Deuteronomy 1:31, where there is a legitimate aspect of the fatherhood of God, there is an aspect to that doctrine that is legit. And so he said, There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, there s the imagery of a father. As a father picks up his boy, so Yahweh, the living God, did the same for Israel. And also, in Deuteronomy 32:6, again, you have a legitimate doctrine of fatherhood. Not in the sense it s generally said in the theology now defunct, the fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man, but in a biblical sense in Deuteronomy 32:6, where there he says, Is this the way you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? Again, a doctrine of fatherhood, because of creation. Not because of redemption, you understand. In this case it s used in a different passage, in a different way, in Deuteronomy 32 than in Exodus 4. In Exodus 4 it does have the redemption motif; in Deuteronomy 32 it has the creation motif. Well, let s now go to the promise itself made to David. First of all, it s outline. The outline of II Samuel 7 which, of course, has a twin passage in I Chronicles 17. These are mirror chapters, I Chronicles 17 is a replica, it is a repetition, of II Samuel 7. Probably the chronicler is writing in the post-exilic period, and most writers put him in the post-exilic period. First of all, II Samuel 7 I ll use that as my main one, without trying to confuse things, and give you the parallel passages. But I assure you there are parallel outlines for I Chronicles 17. First is the occasion for the promise, verses 1-7, of II Samuel 7. And the occasion, of course, is David saying to the prophet, Nathan let s call him Nate, we have studied this passage so frequently, I think we can be on familiar terms - and Nate comes to David and David said isn t this magnificent I have just completed my palace, cedar and all, it is beautiful. But he said I ve got a bad conscience, why should God dwell in curtains and he has been in them since 1400, it is now down to 1000, those rugs are getting old, we really need to do something about it. And so he said you know what I think I m going to do, I m going to build a house for God. And Nate says, Wonderful, amen, he says, Selah. That s great, go and do all that s in your heart. But don t forget, Nathan is speaking off-the-cuff, Nathan even though he is a prophet, at this point is non-prophet, for he is not speaking the word of the Lord. That night the Lord appeared to him and 8 of 14

9 said, Thus saith the Lord. Now, there you have your prophetic formula, there you have revelation. That s the difference between a prophet just being a regular kind of person and giving his own wisdom, which wasn t so wise, and then his receiving a word from the Lord. The Lord said, Thus saith the Lord, because his hands are filled with blood, he will not build the house for Me, but I ll build a house out of him. I ll make a dynasty, the House of David, the Dynasty of David, out of him. And so that s what he came the next day to tell Nathan. And in the morning, Nate went to see David. He said David, I misspoke yesterday, I have a word from the Lord, Thus saith the Lord. And then he gave the revelation of God, that s the occasion in verses 1-7. Then the promise itself comes in verses God reviews how He took this boy from being just a shepherd boy following the flock, now to be a ruler over his people. And he said that He has gone wherever he has gone, and He will go wherever he goes, He will make him successful over his enemies, even as He has, and now He says, I ll make your name great. Here comes that same promise, make your name great? That sounds terribly familiar, that sounds like Genesis 12:2. That sounds like what they were questing for in Genesis 6, they were after a name that flood. That sounds like what they were questing for in Genesis 11 in the tower; they wanted to make a name for themselves. And then He says I ll provide a place for My people. A place? That was Deuteronomy 12, a place for My name to dwell. And I ll plant them and I ll give you rest, that s what He had been talking about in Deuteronomy 12 and other passages, bring them into their rest, into an inheritance, and into a spiritual rest, as well as a physical rest. And then the Lord declares that after your days, when you go to rest with your fathers, I ll raise up your seed to succeed you, I mean one that comes out of your own body, I want to be sure, just like I told Abraham remember, the same phrase: It won t be Eliezer, your servant, I m not going to have you adopt someone, that Arab from Damascus, I mean someone out of your own body, as one as good as dead 100 years old and his wife was 90 years old I m going to give them the miraculous power of conception. And so He says that he will build a house for My name, I will establish the throne of his kingdom, I ll be his daddy, he will be 9 of 14

10 My son and if he does wrong, I ll punish him with the rod of men, and the floggings inflicted by men, but My love will never be taken away from him. Same phrase once again. Unconditioned, even in the conditionality of participating in all the benefits, or in participating and in himself by faith, so your house and your kingdom will endure forever. Then, in verses 18-19, there is thanksgiving for the promise. Thanksgiving for the promise. For having reviewed the promise itself in verses 8-17 which, by the way, could be divided into God s work in the past, verses 8-10, if you want sub-points, and God s work in the future, verses so you have the past, 8-10, and God s work in the future, Now, there comes thanksgiving for the promise, verses 18-21, thanks for the promise now. For David, at this point, goes into the house of God and he says O Lord, who am I, and what is my house that you ve done this thing for me, don t you know I m shepherd stock? I am not from the aristocracy; I am only from a shepherd. And he said, and more than this, look what you ve done for me, you ve brought me thus far, and as if this were not enough in your sight, you ve also spoken about the future of my house. O Lord, he says, with his mind almost bursting here, he said, that this should be the law for all of mankind? For what you have promised me is exactly what I have put my faith in, that s exactly what Abraham and Isaac and Jacob were trusting, in this man of promise who is to come. Now, you ve told me this man of promise would have a kingdom, and a dynasty, and a throne, and a people, and an inheritance that would be forever and forever and forever. He said, O Lord, I can t begin to grasp the whole thing; I can t believe the whole thing. And so, in verse 19, rather than as all the translations have said, is this your usual way of dealing with man? That s an awful long phrase there, is this your usual way. All that for, torah, torah. Is this, he just says, this vezo t, and this torah, the law of ha adam, mankind. This, the law of mankind. And I think it s an exclamation, rather than a question. This oy vey! He said, I can t believe the whole thing, that this is the law, the charter, for all of mankind. For he knows that what is being given to him is the gospel for all nations. This is missions. This is evangelistic and this is universal. So, he thanks God for the promise now. And then he praises God for the favor in the past, verses And there he quotes the great, and reviews the great acts of God and redemption, and bringing them up from Egypt. Who is a 10 of 14

11 God like you, Michael he uses that great expression, Michael or Michael, or Michelle or Micah, which means the English names, or the Russian names. They just mean who is like God, who can be compared to Him? And that s the phrase here, the incomparability of God s person and of His power and of His attributes. And then finally, verses 25-29, there is prayer for this promise in the future. For now, verses 25-29, he turns to address the future, and he prays that God may complete His work even there. Well, so much for the outline of II Samuel 7. What about the specific content. It seems to me it can focus on basically four items. There is the first item, a dynasty, a house, a line, a lineage, of David. And so we have the famous House of David, like the famous houses in Europe, of the dynasties in Europe and in England, we speak of the Georges and the Williams, the William of Orange,????? and the other houses of Europe, the great houses. So, there was the great House of David, established by God. Secondly, there is an everlasting throne, which I think speaks of the authority and the power, which is given to David. Thirdly, there is an everlasting kingdom. This speaks of a sphere, a realm, and a reign, that is being given. The word, kingdom of God, which, of course, was the whole point of Jesus message, He came announcing the kingdom of God. And so He said, the kingdom of God is at hand, the kingdom of God is near. What do we mean by this? And so many people have great difficulties with it, some have turned aside from the kingdom of God since it was used so much in non-evangelical literature, and had been picked up only by liberals. But I want you to know it s a Biblical term, it s a term of our Lord. So, we shouldn t be frightened by it at all. Jesus said the essence of His message could be put down in the kingdom. Then you say, well, then let s make that the integrating theme for the whole of the testament, why not use the kingdom theme. We ve argued in our text, and in some of our books there that, indeed like Beecher says, kingdom is part of the whole promise of God, and is incorporated into it as one of its features. And the best way to think of the kingdom of God is just to substitute the words, rule or realm of God. And it s usually both. Some become too narrow in their concept of God, only making it the realm and, therefore, speaking of both the earthly and the heavenly, the super-terrestrial as well as the terrestrial aspects where God rules and reigns. And will ultimately, one day, when 11 of 14

12 He comes back again, the second time, be King of kings and Lord of lords and God of gods and there will be no competition, none. But, there is also another aspect and that is, the reign of God. That is why we also see an ingressive, an incipient, form of that right now, in which God is reigning in the hearts of men. So, therefore, in Luke s gospel it will say, the kingdom of God is within you. It is within you. So, the reign and realm of God, that s the third great feature. The fourth great feature, I think, is that this is to have missiological implications, a torah, or a charter, as I would like to suggest there s a translation for that Hebrew word, torah a charter or an outline, by which all mankind can come to the living God. So, it is the gospel by which all who believe in the person of promise who is to come will be saved, and have eternal life, and will enjoy the benefits of living life abundantly now. The torah of God, an amazing phrase, and it has been translated in an amazing number of ways. Some of the Bibles even put ellipses here at this point, just three or four dots and then a footnote, Hebrew impossible, or too difficult to translate. But I don t see that the word, torah, is too difficult. Any layperson knows that s law. And then the word, adam, and most people know that s the word, man, or Adam or mankind. So this law for mankind, that s all it s saying. What makes that Hebrew too difficult? The only thing that makes it too difficult, is our own pre-understandings and our prejudices, our sin which says, don t let me see the obvious here, and that is, that it is a law for all of mankind. Now, Psalm 89 celebrates the contents, the specific content, so we need to see this in terms of the Psalmist and what he is saying here. We ve already introduced some of the great themes; he calls this the mercies, the hesed, the very graces of God. Verse 4, I will establish your line forever [and make] your throne (will be) firm throughout all generations. Selah. Then he goes on to say that this one will have success, verse 20, I have found David my servant; with my sacred oil I have (Messiahed him) anointed him. There s that word, the verbal root for the noun, Messiah, I have anointed him. And he said my hand will sustain him, and that is because he has God as his Rock, as his savior, verse 26. And God has appointed David, and those in his line as his firstborn. Not number one in birth because, actually David was himself the eighth in birth. Notice how by factor of two we begin walking away from rights of natural inheritance. It wasn t Esau, but it was Jacob, the second in the family. It wasn t Reuben, but it was Judah, 12 of 14

13 the fourth in the family. It wasn t, in David s line, the eldest son, it was the eighth son. So we re going two, four, eight now, I can t keep that up, sixteen and thirty-two but we are moving away by a huge factor from the rights of the firstborn, if you mean firstborn in the sense of chronology. But it is firstborn in rank and preeminence and, therefore, the word is used this way in the text itself. And so it goes on to celebrate this great theme. We turn finally now to the promise in its future development; the promise to David in its future development. Notice the huge line of metaphors that come for David s seed from the previous words made of the promise. We will speak of this person that will come from David, in Isaiah 11, as a root out of the stump of Jesse. There are two metaphors there, a root that comes from the stump, the cut off stump. There you have people who are not personally participating in the benefits, they ve been chopped off. But the root still has life in it; it s like an elm tree when you cut it down. Some of these elms that get Dutch elm you can cut it off about a foot above the ground and then all of a sudden a year or two later with a lot of rain, out will come an elm bush springing up from around the cut off root. This is like a root, like a shoot, out of the dry ground. There is also the branch of the Lord. In Jeremiah 23:5, he uses the metaphor of a branch for Messiah. There is Shiloh, not Johnny Shiloh, or some other kind of Shiloh, but Shiloh which is interpreted in Ezekiel 21:27, the one whose right it is, the one to whom it belongs. And then there is the horn of David, speaking of the power. There is the scepter of David, the symbol of authority. There is the lion, lion of David. There is the star of David. There is the ruler s staff, and there is the young plant, and the lamp of David. We conclude, then, this lecture by pointing to the Royal Psalms. There are a number of Royal Psalms that pick up this same theme. Psalm 2, a great Psalm that speaks of the king of his investiture. Psalm 110, where the Psalmist is reading apparently Genesis 14, and of Abraham s victory over the four kings from Mesopotamia, he says, it s like a drink of cool water in which the person of 13 of 14

14 promise sits there and he said, the Lord said to my Lord. So you have A is speaking to C about B. And so you have the Lord saying to me about my Lord. And then there s Psalm 45, and Psalm 72, and Psalm 89, and Psalm 132, all being Royal Psalms given to David. So the theme here of the Davidic kingdom, and the promise made to David is one of the great doctrines of the Old Testament. Christ-Centered Learning Anytime, Anywhere 14 of 14