Advent- December 15
Listen: Lo! How a Rose E’re Blooming
King David was the youngest son of a man named Jesse. David had been chosen from among eight sons to be the next King of Israel after God the first King, Saul, had become wicked. (1 Samuel 16)
Because King David loved God and wanted to build him a better Tabernacle than the old tent He lived in, God blessed David with a promise that would last forever.
For Adults:
When Jesus came, He fulfilled God’s promises to King David. In response to David’s desire to build a house for God, God promised to bless David’s family line by giving him a future heir to the throne who would rule forever.
The Davidic covenants recorded in 2 Samuel 7 and Psalm 89 contain four promises.
A Great Name:
The first promise is unconditional: “I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth.” 2 Samuel 7:9. The Lord honored David because of David’s desire to honor God.
An heir of God- Son of God:
In the second promise, God promises that He will be a Father to David’s son and would establish his throne forever. (2 Samuel 7:13-14) This promise refers to Solomon and a future heir. Hebrews 1:5 references this portion of the covenant, confirming that it was fulfilled in Christ. “For to which of the angels did God ever say, You are my Son; today I have become your Father”? Or again, I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.” Heb 1:5 (The only portion of this second promise that does not refer to Jesus is “When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod” (2 Sam 7:14). This only referred to Solomon as Jesus did no wrong. ("He did not sin.” Heb 4:15))
A Dynasty:
Third, God promised to build David a house (dynasty). “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you” (2 Sam 7:16). When people talked of “the house of David” in the ancient world, it was in reference to his family line and successors who carried on his rulership.
An Everlasting Kingdom:
Fourth, God promised that David’s house or dynasty would last forever, “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). The following generations after David died had declined into wickedness, resulting in the nation being split in two. In the years until Jesus was born, the prophets regularly spoke of the restoration of the house of David. Amos 9 is quoted in Acts 15 (“After this, I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent.”) to prove that Jesus is the restoration of David’s fallen tent.
Matthew 1:1 opens by naming Jesus not only as the son of Abraham but also as the son of David. “ This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David.” Matthew continues by providing the lineage from David to Jesus to prove that He is the literal son of David.
Luke also shows us in his genealogy, “the son of David, the son of Jesse” (Luke 3:31, 32). In Luke 1, when the angel Gabriel visits Mary, he references the Davidic covenant and shows us how Jesus fulfilled each of those four promises, “But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
He will be great.
He will be called the Son of the Most High.
The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David.
His kingdom will never end.
Jesus is the prophesied and promised son of David.