Son o f Da v i d /So n o f Go d (2 Sa m u e l 7:1 17)

God promised David, Your throne shall be established forever. Son o f Da v i d /So n o f Go d (2 Sa m u e l 7:1 17) E very town, no matter how large or small, has at least one person like blind... Bartimaeus, the beggar encountered by Jesus in Mark 10:46 52. These are the people who are always there, usually in conspicuous places, yet who are not really there because no one pays much attention to them. We do not know how long Bartimaeus had been blind or how long this had been his post beside the road, but he was in the right place at the right time because one day Jesus of Nazareth passed that way. Apparently, having heard of Jesus and of His ability to give sight to the blind, Bartimaeus was determined not to miss this opportunity. He began to cry out. Mark 10:47 indicates that he did not cry out only once, but repeatedly, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Embarrassed by the commotion being created by this nobody, some of the bystanders rebuked him and told him to be silent. Mark s account says that he kept crying out all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me! (v. 48). His persistence paid off. Jesus stopped and instructed those standing there to call him. Then the bystanders told Bartimaeus, Take courage, stand up! He is calling for you. Bartimaeus obeyed, and Jesus healed him. The account of Bartimaeus is a marvelous story in its own right, but it also raises an interesting and important question: Why did Bartimaeus call Jesus Son of David? Why did he not use one of the more usual titles, such as Son of God, Lord, Master, or what Jesus usually called Himself Son of Man? Why would Jesus heritage as a descendant of David play any role at all in the healing of this blind man? THE Promise To Build a House for David! It all goes back to a promise that God had made to King David one thousand years earlier, as recorded in 2 Samuel 7:1 17. David had reached a quiet point in his reign as king of Israel. He had a permanent dwelling place (rather than living in a tent on military campaigns), and the Lo r d had given him rest on every side from all his enemies (v. 1b). Something did not seem quite right to David about his situation, and he expressed this to Nathan the prophet: See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains (v. 2). It did not seem proper to David that he was housed in a fine home, while the sacred ark (chest) that the Israelites had constructed and placed within the tabernacle after their escape from Egypt was still housed in a tent. The text implies but does not explicitly state that what David had in mind was to build a house for God by constructing a suitable structure for the ark in other words, a temple. He wanted to honor God, and the time seemed right. Regarding his plans, Nathan assured him, The Lo r d is with you. However, that night he had a vision in which God gave him a message to deliver to David: Thus says the Lo r d, Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, Why have you not built Me a house of cedar? (2 Samuel 7:5 7). 1

The message was clear: God did not need a house and had not asked for one. Further, if He wanted one, He would not need David to build it for Him. It seems obvious that David s intention was good, but at the same time it was a bit presumptuous. David was a great king, but God was still God; He did not need David to do favors for Him. In verses 8 through 11a, God reminded David that He is the One who blesses. It was He who had taken David from the lowly job of shepherding and placed him on the throne of Israel. It was He who had defeated all of David s enemies, and He would ensure that His people had a place of rest and safety so their enemies would afflict them no more. Then, in verse 11b, we see the truly amazing statement: The Lo r d also declares to you that the Lor d will make a house for you (emphasis mine). Rather than allowing David to build a house for Him, God promised to build one for David. As the following verses clarify, God was not talking about a physical dwelling place. He was talking about providing for David a royal lineage, offspring to rule after David s death. The word house here refers to a dynasty, as when the British speak of the House of Windsor. God was promising to build the House of David. To Establish David s Throne Forever! Actually, three promises are stated in 2 Samuel 7:12 16: (1) A son was to rule in David s place; (2) this son not David would build a house (temple) to honor God; and, most important, (3) God would establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Along with these commitments, God promised to be a Father to David s son. Even though He would chasten him for his sins, He would not take His steadfast love from him as He had taken it from David s predecessor, Saul (1 Samuel 15). God promised, Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever (2 Samuel 7:16; emphasis mine). No more satisfying promise could have been made to someone in David s position. God assured him that Israel would eventually have rest and that his dynasty would continue forever! Second Samuel 7:18 29 records that David was deeply humbled and accepted both the Lord s refusal and His blessing with a deep sense of gratitude. The promises God made to David bear closer scrutiny. Like so many other prophecies of the Old Testament, this text has a dual fulfillment, one nearer to the time it was stated and one farther away. The nearer fulfillment was that Solomon, David s son, was allowed to build the temple (1 Kings 5 8). God established the greatness of Solomon s rule. Likewise, as verse 14 states, when Solomon eventually lapsed into idolatry due to the influence of his many foreign wives, God punished him as promised (1 Kings 11). It is not difficult to see how these promises were fulfilled through Solomon s reign and through God s dealings with him. It would be difficult, however, to say that the promise for David s throne to be established for ever was fulfilled through Solomon. In fact, the Old Testament demonstrates clearly that it was not. After Solomon s time the kingdom was divided into two parts, with only the southern kingdom (Judah) maintaining the line of Davidic kings. Even this kingdom was eventually destroyed due to a combination of the people s rebellion against God and the conquest by the Babylonian Empire. The line of kings descended from David came to a temporary end. The word forever in 2 Samuel 7:13, 16, therefore, had to point beyond Solomon to someone else. The Messianic Hope In the Promise The Messianic Hope God s promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 formed the basis for Israel s expectation of a coming king, a Messiah (literally, anointed one ) who would redeem His people. This hope of a deliverer to come grew as Israel was defeated by a succession of enemies. Especially following the Babylonian invasion and dissolution of the kingship, the longing for someone to restore the fortunes of Israel (Jeremiah 33:7) became a standard part of the Jewish political and religious hope. Based on this promise, the Jewish people thought of their coming Messiah in terms of a new David, another warrior/king who, like David, would give Israel rest from her enemies. This Messiah would be David s Son whose kingdom would never end. This hope is clarified in numerous Old Testament texts such as the following: 2

Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lo r d, When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell securely; And this is His name by which He will be called, The Lo r d our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:5, 6). It shall come about on that day, declares the Lo r d of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. But they shall serve the Lo r d their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them (Jeremiah 30:8, 9). For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lo r d of hosts will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:6, 7). My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever (Ezekiel 37:24, 25). We may wonder why the Messiah was to be a second David. Why not a second Moses, a new Abraham, or another Noah or Daniel? The primary reason, of course, is that God had made a promise to David. Also, David s life in many respects foreshadowed the life that Jesus was to experience. David was both a shepherd and a king, and the New Testament declares Jesus likewise to be both Shepherd and King over those who follow Him (see, for example, Matthew 2:2; 27:37; John 10:11 18; 1 Peter 5:1 4; Revelation 17:14; 19:16). In addition, David s sufferings foreshadowed those of Jesus. Prior to becoming the sole ruler of Israel, David was persecuted by King Saul, who was jealous of his success (see 1 Samuel 18:28, 29). Years later, he was nearly deposed by his own son Absalom, who had won the favor of many of the people and then rebelled against his father (2 Samuel 15:10 12). In both cases David was forced to flee and to live the life of a fugitive, always in danger (1 Samuel 19:10 12; 2 Samuel 15:14; see Psalm 54). The parallels between David s sufferings and those of our Lord are brought out most vividly in Psalm 22, the first verse of which Jesus quoted while hanging on the cross. We see several remarkable parallels between the psalm and the experiences of Jesus: the sense of being forsaken by God, the mocking insults of those nearby, complete weakness and exhaustion, and even having others gamble for their clothing. The Messianic Hope Fulfilled The New Testament writers were explicit in identifying Jesus as David s Son. Blind Bartimaeus was right! This is why Jesus is so frequently called Christ (Cristo/ß, christos, which is equivalent to Messiah ), meaning the anointed one. The theme of Jesus Messiahship/Kingship is brought out in numerous ways. For example, it is the goal of the Gospel of Matthew to present Jesus as Israel s long-awaited King. This explains why this account begins, The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. First, Jesus is identified as the Christ, then as David s son (a point which would not be missed by Jewish readers familiar with 2 Samuel 7 and its promises). Next, the book gives His lineage to prove His claim to Davidic descent. Luke 2:4, 5 also explains that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and not in His hometown of Nazareth, because Joseph was of the house and family of David and had to report to his ancestral home in order to be counted and taxed. This was no accident of history; Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem, the city of David. John specified this as the aim of his Gospel Account:... that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:30, 31). When Jesus asked His disciples, Who do you say that I am? Peter replied, in contrast to the other opinions about Jesus, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus commended him for 3

this confession, saying that it had been revealed to Peter by God Himself (Matthew 16:15 17). At the end of the New Testament, Revelation 19:16 proclaims Jesus to be King of kings, and Lord of lords. He is the ultimate King not only of Israel, but of all humankind. THE PROMISE Rejected Why was Jesus rejected as Messiah by most of the Jewish people of His day? If the prophecies were so clear and Jesus so obviously fulfilled them, how could they have missed this? The answer is that Jesus simply did not meet the popular expectations for the Messiah that had arisen over the centuries. People had distinct ideas of what the Messiah would be and do, and anyone who did not do the expected messianic things would be pushed aside in regard to being a likely candidate for the Messiahship. Primarily, in the first-century world in which Jesus lived, the Jewish people thought of the Messiah as someone who would restore the fortunes of Israel by defeating the Roman oppressors who had controlled Palestine since 63 B.C. They believed that He would be a warrior/king (like David) and would raise an army to lead them triumphantly in battle against their enemies. Instead, Jesus came preaching peace and love for one s enemies hardly what anyone would expect from the leader of a full-scale rebellion against the world s greatest empire! Then there was the problem of Jesus crucifixion. The Jewish mind could not accept that the Messiah would be killed by Israel s enemies, much less submit to a humiliating death on a Roman cross. This is undoubtedly the reason that large crowds followed Jesus in the early days of His ministry in Galilee but then deserted Him as they began to see that His Messiahship was leading to the cross, not to victory over Rome. Even those closest to Jesus found this difficult to accept. John the Baptist, who had at first recognized Jesus as the Anointed One sent from God (Matthew 3:13 15; John 1:19 34; 3:25 30), later questioned whether or not Jesus was the Expected One, or if he and his followers should look for someone else (Matthew 11:2 6). John was languishing in Herod s prison, waiting to hear that the Messiah had risen up and begun to renew Israel but no military action had taken place. Jesus pointed out to him that the messianic events foretold by the prophets were indeed coming to pass. Jesus own disciples had difficulty comprehending the nature of His Messiahship. The expectation of a royal militaristic ruler surely was behind the request of James and John to be allowed to be His right-hand and left-hand men when He had assumed control of His kingdom (Mark 10:35 40; Matthew 20:20 23). In other words, they wanted to be the top leaders in the new administration. Acts 1:6 records that, even after Jesus resurrection, the disciples asked Him, Lord, is it at this time You are re storing the kingdom to Israel? It is little wonder, then, that most of the Jews of Jesus day failed to comprehend the nature of His Messiahship and to acknowledge Him as the One sent from God. Their error was that they did not take into account the signs which He displayed, which demonstrated without question that He was the long-awaited Messiah (John 10:22 30). A second reason that most did not accept Jesus as Messiah was that He was in reality more than just David s Son. In Matthew 22:41 46, Jesus addressed this point directly with the Pharisees (His most ardent opponents) by asking them, What do you think about the Christ, whose son is He? When they replied, The son of David, Jesus pointed out to them that David, in Psalm 110:1, had called the Messiah my Lord. If David then calls Him Lord, Jesus asked, how is He his son? There was no reply. Jesus was not denying His own Davidic sonship, but He was showing that this title alone is inadequate because He is greater than David. This was foretold when God said to David that the promised son to sit on Israel s throne shall be My son (1 Chronicles 17:13; 22:10). Jesus is not merely David s son; He is also God s Son. There was far more to His ministry than simply an earthly rulership but this, unfortunately, was all the Jewish people wanted or expected. God made a dual promise to David about the near future and the more distant future: a son to sit on his throne, as well as a descendant who would be not only his son, but also God s Son. King Solomon succeeded his father on the throne of Israel and fulfilled the first promise. Jesus the Messiah provided the final and ulti mate fulfillment, and He still sits on David s throne! 4

THE PROMISE for Today Although in 2 Samuel 7:5 16 God was speaking specifically to David, there is still much for Christians today to learn from this pivotal event in biblical history: First, the fulfillment of God s promises is not dependent on human perfection. God s promise to David was unconditional. Even though David later committed some grievous sins, God kept His word to him. We often despair when we look at our own failings and those of the church, but we should not. God will fulfill all of His promises: Jesus is still on the throne, and the salvation of His people remains certain. Second, God will fulfill His plans, no matter how long it takes. It took one thousand years to get from David to Jesus but the Messiah came, nevertheless. Likewise, though two millennia have passed since Jesus came, the Scriptures promise us that He will come again. We should never despair because God does not work on our timetable. Rather, we need to wait in faith for His purposes to be fulfilled. If we trust Him and do not turn away, we will surely be blessed. Third, we must beware of accepting half-truths about Jesus. Bartimaeus was right when he called Jesus Son of David, yet what he said was only part of the truth. Today Jesus is often condescendingly acknowledged as a great man, a prophet, or a savior but not the Savior. Anything less than the full confession of Jesus as the Christ/ Messiah and Son of God is inadequate. Fourth, nothing that we can do for God can equal what God has done for us. David wanted to build a temple for God. God reminded him that He is the true Giver and does not need us to provide for Him. God provided for David far more than he could ever have expected or desired. Likewise, we deceive ourselves when we think that we can offer to God lives that are acceptable in His sight because of our good deeds or spiritual accomplishments. Instead, as we will see later, God has accomplished for us through Jesus what we could never have done for ourselves. We are called on to obey Him; but as we do so, we must remember that all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment (Isaiah 64:6) compared to what God has accomplished for us through Jesus the Messiah. Like blind Bartimaeus, we can only call out to Him, Have mercy! and through Jesus, He promises to do just that. Why Was David Not Qualified To Build the Temple? The reason for God s refusal to allow David to build a temple is not mentioned in 2 Samuel 7 or its parallel in 1 Chronicles 17, except for the suggestion that David was being presumptuous in thinking that he needed to do so. However, a reason is given in 1 Kings 5:3 and 1 Chronicles 22:8; 28:3: David had been primarily a man of war and had shed much blood. Why did this disqualify him from building the temple? Two answers are possible. The first comes from 1 Kings 5:3, where Solomon suggested that warfare had simply kept David too busy to be able to build a temple. However, this seems unlikely as a primary reason, since 2 Samuel 7:1 says that David s desire to build the temple came after the Lo r d had given him rest on every side from all his enemies. The more likely reason is found in 1 Chronicles 22:8: You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me (see 1 Chronicles 28:3). In other words, David s shedding of much blood somehow made him unclean for the task of building the temple. (See Leviticus 17 for some of the Mosaic regulations regarding blood and the ceremonial uncleanness which went with it.) His son Solomon did not have this problem, since his early reign was a time of peace and prosperity (1 Kings 5:4). Solomon declared, Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lo r d my God, as the Lo r d spoke to David my father, saying, Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name (1 Kings 5:5). Tommy South Copyright, 2010 by Truth for Today. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 5