A Son Worth Waiting For - A Christmas Message Series

The story of Christmas is splashed across the pages of your Bible long before Mary, Joseph, Wise Men, and the shepherds arrive. We’re exploring the promises made a millennium ahead of Christmas, and it’s these promises that serve as a bedrock granite underneath the holiday season. 2 Samuel 7 is one of the most important chapters in your Bible. And it is one that most of us have never heard of. In fact, it is arguably the one chapter that plays the single most significant role of any Old Testament passage in shaping the early church’s understanding of Jesus.

How did the first disciples know Jesus was the Son of God? “Being, therefore, a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption” (Acts 2:30–31). Unless you understand David and his family, you will not understand Christmas.

Inside our story lies the secret to experiencing a great Christmas. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 7, or page 330 in your pew Bible. We’ll return to the book of Acts after the 1st of the year. The secret to experiencing a great Christmas is that an all-powerful God and all-wise God is working for the best outcome for your life.

Today’s Scripture Text

Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. 9 And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, 11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ (2 Samuel 7:8–16)

David & his family are the reason we have Christmas. Let me offer some background to today’s text. You may be surprised to discover the message of Christmas inside the pages of the Old Testament. Your Bible has two testaments – Old and New –, and there’s a rich unity that brings them as together as one. You can think of the two testaments as 2 acts – Act 1 and Act 2. It is not until Act 2 (the New Testament) that Jesus and Christmas are splashed before us in bold headlines. But in Act 1 (the Old Testament), there’s a moving spotlight that is searching for the True King throughout Act One. As you read the narrative in the first act, you see a longing for a better ruler over the people of Israel until it ripens for the search for the Perfect Ruler.

Let’s talk about the Ark of the Covenant for a moment. David has finally experienced some rest from Israel’s enemies. In fact, in the immediate chapter before, David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. It’s important for you to realize that the Ark was the throne of God on the earth. David had built himself a beautiful home to live in after many years of military campaigns. It’s then he realizes that he lives in luxury in a palace while the Ark of the Covenant is sitting in a tent. How could David live in such luxury while God lives in a ratty tent? So, King David wants to build a house for God, and he brings his idea to Nathan, the prophet. I love David’s heart here, don’t you? At first, Nathan says, “Greenlight ahead. All systems go!” Nathan is like a lot of us ministers. If some wealthy person comes and says to the minister, “I want to make a huge donation to the ministry,” what do we say? “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.” But then Nathan goes to bed, and it’s there God speaks to Nathan, who in turn is to speak to the king. That very night, God came to Nathan & said, “No. I don’t want David to build me a house” (2 Samuel 7:4-5). While King David wants to build a house for God, God says in effect, “No, but I will build a house for you.” God’s alternative plan of building the house of David is the secret to a great Christmas.