Old Testament Prophecies Regarding the Messiah - Part Six (2 Samuel 7:12-17, esp. 13-14)

"He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with
the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:"

King David dreamed of building a Temple for God. He longed to see Jehovah God worshiped in a place worthy (as far as man could have created a place worthy enough) of God. In 2 Samuel 7:2, we find David lamenting to the prophet Nathan that while he as earthly king lives in a palace, God dwells "within curtains." Nathan then tells David that because he is a man of war and bloodshed he will not be allowed to build the Temple but his son would build God a house of worship (see also 2 Chronicles 7).

It is within this story that one of the most powerful but yet least discussed Messianic prophecies occurs, for it is within this account of David's desire for glorious worship that we find the promise of the one who will not only be the Son of David but also the Son of God.

This passage, also referred to as the Davidic Covenant, provides five clear understandings regarding the coming Messiah. Walter Kaiser in his book, The Messiah in the Old Testament,
(p. 83) lists them as (1) the Messiah will come from David's flesh and seed; (2) the Messiah will be David's heir; (3) the Messiah will also be God's natural son; (4) the Messiah will have a kingdom, rule, and reign that will never end; and (5) the Messiah will surely come one day in the future. Now let's examine how each of these guides to identification serve to describe the Jewish carpenter from Nazareth.

Regarding points #1 and 2, Matthew 1 and Luke 2 provide the lineage of Jesus but this in itself can present some problems. Jeremiah 22:24-30 places a curse upon the descendants of Jeconiah but Matthew 1:11-12 lists one of the descendants of Joseph as being that of Jeconiah. Luke 2 presents the lineage as going through Solomon's brother Nathan thereby avoiding the curse of Jeconiah. But how can both be true? Some have speculated that Matthew 1 tells the history of Joseph while Luke 2 gives us the lineage of Mary which is one answer, especially given that Jesus is born of Mary and not Joseph. However, this does not solve the problem of validating Jesus' right to David's physical throne because heirship must go through the father.
J. Lukyn Williams in Christian Evidences for Jewish People, and I agree that both lineages are dealing with the line of Joseph - Matthew setting up Jesus' royal lineage and Luke establishing the natural lineage.

The idea that the Messiah will be God's own son (point #3) is unfathomable to human minds. How could God have a Son? But yet, verse 14 specifically states that God will be his father and the Davidic king will be his son. The prophets and scholars must have been puzzled by this statement. That is until a few hundred years later when Isaiah writes in 7:14 that a virgin would conceive and bear a son and would call his name Immanuel ("God with us"). Other evidences that the ultimate Davidic king would be God's son is found in the Royal Psalm of David (Psalm 2) when David writes, regarding himself in the temporal but ultimately about the Messiah in the eternal, "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee."

Points #4 and 5 are two that anti-missionaries quickly point to as proof that Jesus could not be the Messiah. Because in the physical sense, Jesus did not establish an earthly kingdom. However, two points should be made. First, the Scripture does not promise necessarily a physical kingdom but instead "the throne of his kingdom forever." The power and influence of the Son of David would be forever but perhaps not in the sense that we expected. Secondly, a "metaphorical" understanding of the verse must be recognized because of the curse of Jeconiah. God will not break his covenants and so if the sons of Jeconiah are not allowed to rule, than the rule of the Messiah must be something more than physical. Jesus himself stated this reality when He stated, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36,37). But what is so wonderful about God is that He fulfills the promises He makes not only spiritually but also physically. For there will come a day when Jesus shall rule and reign and sit upon the throne of David (Revelation 11:15-19; 19:11-21).

2 Samuel 7 is an untapped resource for illustrating that Jesus is the Messiah for the Jewish people. The waiting is over and the hope can begin. Or as Eugene Merrill states in Cracking Old Testament Codes (ed. by Brent Sandy and Ronald Geise), "In the larger context of the Old Testament as the record of Yahweh's universal and eternal dominion, the Davidic covenant represents an aspect of that dominion which is accomplished in the face of almost overwhelming satanic opposition, but accomplished nonetheless in the fulfilling work of Christ, the second David" (p. 108).

Next Week ... Isaiah 7:14