Forever? Really? Series

Fourth Sunday in Advent 2020

Here are some thoughts to help prepare for the Scriptures of this last Sunday in Advent in the plague year. We are now in the second phase of Advent preparations, into the time when we focus on the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Jesus, of course, and now on the king of Israel, David.

In the OT lesson, David is at peace after years of conflict, and he is comfortable. That gets him into big trouble later, but for now he is feeling, as he sees it, generous. The tax revenues are coming in from areas from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north, and surrounding kingdoms are sending him tribute and even wives. That latter gets him and his son into trouble later, but now he wants to do something for the One who has given him everything. So he proposes to build a temple for the Lord. Why should all the surrounding kingdoms have lavish temples for their phony gods, while the Lord’s tabernacle is literally a tent? And the prophet Nathan, who’s probably gotten comfortable too, says–without consulting God–“sure, king, do as you plan, the Lord is with you.”

But God has other plans. He actually says in the long version that “I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”’ He reminds David that everything the world attributes to David has actually been the Lord’s work, and that He Himself was making David’s name great. It sounds like a rebuke of the king’s pride.

And God goes on to promise that He will do even more for His people Israel. Not David’s people, but the Lord’s. And for David//not only will David not build a temple for God, God will establish a house–a dynasty–for David, so that descendants of his will always lead Israel. And God promises, too, that David’s kingdom would last forever.

Today’s psalm, which the Jews attributed to a later Temple Levite, repeated the promise of an everlasting kingdom, with David’s line the everlasting king. Twice the promise says his dynasty would last for all generations. And David’s heirs would always trust in the true God as the Rock on which their kingdom was founded, and the king would worship the Lord alone, as his father.

However, the promise was contingent on faithfulness by king and people to the covenant, obeying the Ten Commandments. And even in the next generation, with Solomon, Israel turned its back on that covenant. Of all the kings of Israel and Judah, there were maybe four that were worthy of the promise to David—himself, maybe Jehoshaphat, surely Hezekiah and Josiah. But Hezekiah’s son was the worst leader in human history, and after Josiah nothing but corrupt politicians. Zedekiah lived to see all his progeny executed by the Babylonians before they blinded him, making him ineligible in any culture to be king. He was led off to Babylon with the best of his people, and no Davidic descendant ever again sat as king of the Jews. . .with one exception.

The NT selection from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans–once we know what’s coming next–is almost like a drum roll for the Gospel. You see the problem with the Davidic dynasty–which is also the problem with me and all other humans–is disobedience. We hear, we know God’s expectations, His commandments, and from Adam all the way down to me we think we know better. All have sinned and fallen short. Until Jesus Christ, who was obedient all the way to death. In Jesus we can bring about the obedience of faith in ourselves through His grace won on the cross.

And so, in the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John, the virgin Mary was probably at prayer when she had perhaps the most important vision in human history. The angel Gabriel appeared to her, this young woman betrothed to Joseph of the house of David, and calls her “full of grace” and says those awesome words “the Lord is with you.” Same thing Nathan told David. This little teenager has been deemed favored by God. That was God’s doing–not hers. She is chosen to conceive a son without intervention by a human male and to bring forth Jeschua, Jesus. The name means “The Lord saves.” He will not only be of divine estate, Son of the Lord God, but also attain the throne of David, his ancestor. This son of Mary would fulfill the promise to rule over the Davidic kingdom forever. And once Mary understood that this would be a miraculous virginal conception, she immediately showed the obedience of faith, and became the model of faith for all of us. As we enter this last week of preparation, then, we should all, men and women, old and young, echo her words: I am the servant of the Lord, be it done to me according to Your will.