Christian Faith in the Old Testament: The Bible of the Apostles by Gareth Lee Cockerill

Author:Gareth Lee Cockerill [Cockerill, Gareth Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2014-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

These people who were to be God’s own ‘chosen nation’ and a ‘royal priesthood’ want to become like ‘all the nations.’

First Samuel 9:1–15:35 narrates the choice, disobedience, and rejection of Saul, the first king of Israel (see Figure 3). He was handsome, head and shoulders taller than anyone else. He had a regal bearing. God gave them the kind of king they thought they wanted in order to show them the tragedy of their choice. This king’s self-will and disobedience led to his defeat and the overwhelming domination of the land by the Philistines (1 Sam. 31:7). Then God gave them the person no one would have considered kingly material: David, the little shepherd boy, youngest son of Jesse (2 Sam. 16:1–13). He was a king after God’s own heart, who, despite his failures, retained a humble, submissive heart before his God.

First Samuel 16:1–31:13 begins with the choice of David and ends with the death of Saul (see Figure 3). These chapters chronicle Saul’s attempts to destroy David and David’s patient reliance on God to bring him into his kingship. We are encouraged to follow David’s faith and warned by Saul’s conduct of the consequences of disobedience.

II. GOD’S ANSWER: “MY KING,” “MY CITY”

God does not leave his people in disobedience. He takes their sinful request for a king and uses it for their benefit. He gives them two institutions to stabilize them in obedience: the Davidic dynasty and Jerusalem with its temple, the Holy City. That is why we have entitled this chapter “Restoration Institutionalized.” Due to their frailty and inconsistent obedience, God will institutionalize his rule over them and his presence among them.

A. “My King”: David and His Descendants

God established David and his “house,” his sons (2 Sam. 7:8–14) to “plant” his people (2 Sam. 7:10) by leading them to follow God’s covenant and by delivering them from their enemies. What God was doing through David and his house was not something different from the Mosaic covenant. David was to lead the people to obey that covenant so they could enjoy the blessings of fellowship with God, harmonious life, and the benefits of the promised land. All of this was, of course, in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham. Who, then, was this David? What did God expect his descendants to be? God’s conversation with David in 2 Samuel 7:8–14 helps us to answer these questions. God calls him “my servant David” (2 Sam. 7:8). David has the great privilege of being singled out as God’s own servant. He will be king, but he will be the servant and regent of the Great King. It will be his responsibility to obey the voice and law of his Lord. He is God’s “chosen” (1 Sam. 16:1–10) one. David was not elected or chosen by the people to be king. He did not attain this position by his own strength or merit. Through Samuel, God clearly chose David and gave the kingship to him. Samuel, at God’s instruction, went to the house of Jesse, David’s father, to anoint a new king for Israel.

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