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Good morning my dear “Walking with Jesus” friends.
We’re on a December Advent journey together, as we trace the chronological story of Christmas.
Today would you turn with me in your Bibles to 1 Samuel 17 in the Old Testament, one of the most famous battle scenes of all time.
A nine foot giant, well armed, with an armor bearer at his side… Goliath is his name. And approaching him is a young boy, maybe 15 years of age or so. He is unarmed except for a slingshot. Two great armies stand facing each other, watching this unthinkable dual. These armies have been at a standoff for more than a month, with this Philistine giant warrior, every morning, challenging the Israel army to send out from their ranks, some soldier willing to fight him to the death. The loser’s army would then surrender to the winner’s army, the loser’s nation surrendering to the winner’s nation. This was no back yard brawl! The future of two entire nations hung in the balance this day!
You remember the name of the boy with the slingshot, don’t you? David. If you back up just two pages in your Bible, we meet young David for the first time in 1 Samuel 16. The prophet Samuel had been led of God to the town of Bethlehem, David’s hometown… remember that! Samuel had served as Israel’s leader all of his life. Sadly, the elders of Israel had come to him with a remarkable request. I see it in 1 Samuel 8:4,5… “The elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. They said to him “You are old and your sons do not walk in your ways, now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”
If I can say it this way… all human history, and all of heaven held their breath for a few seconds!
Israel, as we know, was a unique nation. They had no human king. God was their king from when He had founded the nation. God had started this people with a miracle son, Isaac, born to an aged couple named Abraham & Sarah. God had promised the nation would descend from them, and would be unique in the world, and would be the ‘people of God’. He would provide a land for them to live in. God would provide laws and guidelines which would define their culture, and help them function as a society of people, unlike any other. God Himself would protect them from their enemies and provide all the natural resources for them to flourish as a people. In return, God invited them to worship Him alone, and to be His people and He would be their God. (Deuteronomy 4:32-40)
But you remember the story of Israel, don’t you my friends. From that beginning in Genesis 12, all the way to 1 Samuel 8, this remarkable, miraculous nation of people had resisted God’s leading of them. They had failed miserably in their allegiance to and worship of Him alone, while at the same time expecting God would continue to protect, provide, and bless them, even in their rebellion. Finally they rejected God’s idea of a ‘theocracy’ and they ask for human king so they can be like all the other nations! Oh my what a sad day!
God granted that request and Saul was Israel’s first king (you’ll see that in 1 Samuel 10). He failed miserably, you may recall, and in 1 Samuel 16, David is identified by God as His choice to succeed Saul, as Israel’s king. Samuel anointed young David with oil as the future king, for King Saul was still alive and king David, in humility, waited almost 40 years before Saul finally took his own life, after being wounded in battle, (you’ll see that in 1 Samuel 31) and David finally ascended to the throne as king of Israel.
Look at what else took place, my friends, in that moment of Samuel’s anointing of young David to be the future king of Israel… (I see it in 1 Samuel 16:13) “…from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power.” One of the evidences of the LORD’s Spirit on David in power, was this showdown with Goliath in the valley of Ela, recorded in 1 Samuel 17.
Look closely at the verbal exchange between Goliath and David… “Goliath said to David, ‘Am I a dog that you come to me with sticks?’ And the Philistine cursed David by his gods… David said to the Philistine, ‘You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, (Jehovah Sabaoth) the God of the armies of Israel whom you have defied. This day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head… and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves, for the the battle is the LORD’s.” (1 Samuel 17:41-47)
David reached into his pouch, put one stone in his slingshot and buried that stone in Goliath’s forehead, and Goliath collapsed. David did cut off his head, with Goliath’s huge sword… and the rest is history. From that day on David’s humble popularity grew in Israel, and Saul’s egotistical leadership waned. Despite his growing popularity, David was careful to not undermine Saul’s authority as king. He waited on God Sovereignty and led by the Holy Spirit. David served Saul, sometimes at risk to his own life.
Finally more than 30 years later, Saul took his own life after being wounded in battle, and David was crowned king (2 Samuel 5). Soon there-after, David and his men conquered the city of Jerusalem, and it became known as ‘the city of David’. If you visit Jerusalem today, your guide will point out to you the small ‘lower section’ of the city, south of the Temple Mount which still today, 3000 years later, is called ‘the city of David’. Your guide will also take you to visit King David’s tomb, and of course everywhere you will see the flag of Israel flying. In the center of that flag, is the famous ‘star of David’, the six pointed Israeli star. King David was the first of the God appointed “royal family”.
Now may I take a brief moment to explain something in some books of the Bible you may not often read. From 1 Samuel 10, all the way through 2 Chronicles 36, we find the story of the nation of Israel during its history of the period of the kings. Saul, as I’ve pointed out, was the first king. God selected David to replace Saul, after Saul’s death. David was a man of God and God promised to David, Israel’s throne forever. You’ll see that in 2 Samuel 7 & 1 Chronicles 17. Here is a good example of how these Bible books parallel each other, telling the story of nearly 500 years Israel’s history.
David wanted to build a proper ‘house’ for God’s Ark of the Covenant, but God’s message came to David that his son Solomon would be the builder of the great Temple, after he followed his father David as king of Israel, continuing the royal line. Listen to God’s promise to David “When your days are over and you go to be with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for My Name, and I will establish his throne forever… Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before Me; your throne will be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-16). We’ll probably study this more closely later in 2020, but for now it’s important we understand… this is what God did! Solomon, David’s son, did inherit the throne and did oversee the construction of the great temple of worship to Jehovah God in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 5-7).
Sadly, there was civil war in Israel, following Solomon’s death, and Israel divided into two kingdoms. “Israel” was the 10 tribes of the northern kingdom. 22 kings reigned, mostly all were evil men and idolatry and immorality was widespread. God sent several prophets to call the people back to Himself, and warn them of His coming judgment. For the most part, they refused God’s word to them, and finally God’s judgment came, as the northern kingdom Israel was conquered and destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 bc.
The southern kingdom was much smaller, essentially Jerusalem and the territory around it, the tribal lands of Judah and Benjamin. It was named “Judah”, and the people retained their allegiance to King David’s royal family. 19 kings led Judah, almost all were direct descendants of David. The royal line was preserved and several of them were God honoring men, who attempted to lead the people of Judah in remaining true to God.
Finally, however, some of those kings allowed the people to follow the pattern of their northern kingdom cousins, and they rejected God, even closing the Temple (2 Chronicles 27:24) and building idols on every street corner in Jerusalem! Again God sent prophets, but the people rejected them, and finally God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar to invade and destroy Jerusalem, and burn the great Temple to the ground in 586 bc. (you’ll see that in 2 Chronicles 36).
Ezra 1-6 gives us the remarkable story of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, 70 years later, and even the Temple was rebuilt, although not with same splendor of the first one.
While the royal family of David continued to exist, generation after generation, the Davidic kingship was not re-established, since Jerusalem and the surrounding territory remained under the dominance of foreign powers… all the way to the days of Jesus and the Roman Empire control over Israel.
Now here’s why this history is so important: remember in the Christmas story… “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world… And everyone went to his own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and laid Him in a manger, for there was no room for them in the inn…” (of course that’s Luke 2:1-7).
Ahhh! Now the story that you’ve read every Christmas for how many years, takes on new meaning. So the carpenter Joseph was born into the ROYAL family line of king David!? YES!!
But so many centuries had passed since Israel had a king, Joseph was a relatively poor man, trying to make a life for himself and his soon to be bride, as a carpenter. No one had given any thought, for a very long time, to the royal line, until the Roman Caesar issued a decree to register for taxes! Suddenly Matthew chapter 1 and that long list of names beginning with Abraham and especially going through DAVID became very important! Yes, Jesus was born into the royal family of king David!
I wonder what you see in all this? Do you see the Sovereignty of God through the centuries? Do you see God’s attention to details? Over the next few days I’m going to show you some Old Testament prophecies God made through his prophets which would make it possible for people to identify the baby Jesus, as the long awaited Messiah! If, that is, if they were willing to see the hand of God in directing the events of the human race on planet earth! Are we willing? How do you see God’s hand working in the story of your life, your family… for His glory and the accomplishment of His purposes?
Oh Almighty God, Lord of all time…we praise You and we thank You for Your Sovereignty!
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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