The Promise of a King

“‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: ¹² When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. ¹⁵ But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” – 2 Samuel 7:11-16

David was promised by God that his house (family) and throne (dynasty) would be established forever, and that his name would be great. He responded to this revelation with great praise and wonder.

How great you are, Sovereign Lord! There is no one like you, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. – 2 Samuel 7:22

What a wonderful promise to know that God is in control and is going to take care of your family and people forever! But something terrible happened. The kings sinned, and the people sinned, and they continued to sin. God sent prophets and messengers to tell them they were doing wrong, but they wouldn’t listen. Finally, it was so bad, that God expelled them from the Holy Land. He sent them away from His Temple and the land He promised them they could live in if they were obedient.

Now, there was no king on the throne, because there was no throne. There were no sacrifices or worship at the temple, because there was no temple—it was destroyed by the Babylonians. The people lived in foreign lands, and even when they were allowed to return to their homes in the Promised Land, Jerusalem was ruled by other people for a long time: the Babylonians; Persians; Greeks; and, finally, the Romans. The Mosaic Covenant was broken, but the people believed that God was faithful and would still keep His promise and covenant to David, that one of his descendants would rule over God’s kingdom forever.

They were told by Isaiah:

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. –Isaiah 9:6-7

There was great hope for the righteous and just king who would rule and complete David’s dynasty. This king would be better than all the other kings. He would even be better and more holy and righteous than David. But how could this be? When would this be? The temple and palace were destroyed when Judah was exiled.

One day, almost 550 years after the Isaiah’s prophecy, in the small town of Nazareth, an angel appeared to a young woman.

“Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name 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 the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” – Luke 1:30-33.

Now there is an answer! The people had been waiting for a long, long time to hear from God about what He was going to do next. But how was Mary to make this known to everyone? Especially when the prophecy, once fulfilled, would make her a social outcast. She was pregnant outside of marriage, a shameful thing for her and her family. There is no doubt that Jesus came from humble beginnings, but this was on purpose. God is often in the habit of using the least likely candidate to accomplish his plans. The promise of a King was not fulfilled in luxury and majesty, but in poverty and discomfort. Jesus came into this world in the lowest way so that He could raise us to the highest place. Mary was given the answer, God was sending a baby to be born who would be King! A king like David, better than David. A king to rule God’s Kingdom on Earth. Hallelujah!