Covenant Faithfulness and the Son of David

Searching for the Messiah

When you imagine the kingdom of Israel, what do you think about?

Do you think about Saul, seated among his closest advisors, terrified that the kingdom is slipping through his fingers? Do you think about David, the warrior-king, wandering the barren wastelands with a crew of social outcasts? Do you think about villages caught in the political tempest of Saul’s jealous rage?

Do you know what I think about? I think about the people and the promises.

Israel is unique among the many ancient nations, in part because their history was punctuated with the promises of God. “I will make you a people. I will give you a land flowing with milk and honey. I will raise from your offsprings many kings and many nations. I am sending a King to deliver you from your enemies. I am sending a prophet like Moses - listen to him!”

And when I imagine the ancient kingdom of Israel, I think about the people - the shepherds and carpenters and soldiers, and their wives and sons and daughters, the faithful children of Abraham who were always searching the horizon for the promised messiah.

The prophecies of a coming king must have always been on their mind. I mean, if you were promised rescue by a king who reigned with the mighty arm of God, wouldn’t that promise haunt you. Wouldn’t you always be wondering whether the king who was promised had arrived? If you had been told of a great prophet-leader like Moses, who would restore God’s people and establish God’s kingdom on earth, wouldn’t the edge of your seat be worn with anticipation? That’s the situation of the ancient kingdom of Israel.

So when David cries out against Goliath, and shouts praise while rushing the battlefield, the faithful of Israel paid attention. And when he faithfully led them, over and over again, to victory against their oppressors by the might of God, the faithful of Israel were stirred to hope. And as Saul’s idolatrous kingdom began to crumble underneath him while young David eluded his grasp, the faithful of Israel must have been nearly certain.

This is the promised Messiah, come to redeem the people of God.

That’s what I imagine, when I think about the ancient kingdom of Israel. I imagine the faithful shepherds and merchants and farmers, scanning the horizon in hope. Asking whether David was the promised Messiah.

The purpose of Samuel

The book we’ve been reading is written to answer that question.

Is David the promised Messiah? No, he wasn’t. But he was like him.

For a while now we’ve focused on passages that foreshadow the work and words of Jesus, because David is a lot like the promised Messiah. David moves in the might of God, David is filled with the Spirit of God, David hopes in the promises of God, David rescues the people of God. In these ways, David is like the promised Messiah.

The answer is no. But

But recently we’ve begun to detect a shift in the structure of the book, and we’ve seen signs that the author is shifting our attention. We’ve seen glimpses of David’s sin, of his pride, of his violence. We’re beginning to discover that David is not the promised Messiah.

The passage we’re reading today is remarkable, because in just a few paragraphs and a handful of subtle expressions, we’re taught that David’s