March 7, 2022 - 2 Samuel 5-7

Anointed king at Hebron, “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years” (5:4). David captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites and made it his capital. From the beginning, “David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him” (5:10). So many great accolades might be given to David, but the matter we find ourselves coming back to, over and over, is the matter of his descendant.

God covenanted with David to give him a great name, a place and protection for Israel, peace, and a royal dynasty. Regarding this last, the Lord declared: “And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever” (7:16). An eternal kingdom with an eternal ruler! The Son of David! His coming having been foretold in Genesis 3:15, the story continues with David but does not conclude with David. Though his descendant, Messiah is not only “the son of David,” he is David’s Lord, the Sovereign Lord and King, a man in the lineage of David (Matthew 22:41-46).

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed,

great David’s greater Son!

Hail in the time appointed,

his reign on earth begun!

He comes to break oppression,

to set the captive free;

to take away transgression,

and rule in equity. -- James Montgomery (1821)