Title: The Existence of the Davidic Dynasty
At David's Palace in Jerusalem
The most characteristic event that shows the character of David is the battle between David and Goliath. In this incident, when David, who was just a rural shepherd, laid down the great Philistine general Goliath with a slingshot, David became Saul's father-in-law and eventually seized the throne of Israel. Another characteristic event was David's taking the wife of Uriah, his subordinate general. His wife's name is Bathsheba, and Solomon, whom he obtained through her, overcame the other brothers and succeeded David as king. In the struggle for kingship, which can be called a kind of prince rebellion, the role of her mother Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan was very important in that Solomon was able to become the final winner. Both of these men were from Jerusalem.
The prophet Nathan who appears in today's text is that person. King David, who had pacified Israel, asked Nathan for advice. “Listen to me. I live in a palace made of pine and white, and the ark of God is still kept in the veil” (2 Samuel 7:2b). and answered. Nathan heard the word of Yahweh that night, and the contents are verses 5-16.
To understand this passage, it is necessary to consider the time when David sought advice from Nathan. Verse 1 accurately describes the situation. “Because the LORD had defeated all the enemies on all sides, King David was able to live in peace in his palace.” David fought Saul for a long time. The detailed story is recorded in 1 Samuel. All of Saul's sons died, and Saul's important men were also recruited by David. Now, David had no stillness left. Finally, he drove out the Jebusites, the natives of Jerusalem, and changed the name of the city to the City of David. Now, David has become a true king who has conquered Palestine in name and reality.
David moved the ark of the Covenant from Baalah in Judah to Jerusalem. In the midst of this, a fatal accident occurred, and this event was put on hold for a while, but eventually the ark returned to Jerusalem. It is said that David was so happy the day the ark came into Jerusalem that he danced all the way. Although he received a pin cup from his wife Michal for that reason, his heart to serve the ark was worthy of recognition.
All the problems that David had to solve were resolved by serving the ark. Because he has fully established his political throne, has won a territorial dispute with the native Palestinians, and has now brought the ark to Jerusalem on a religious level. In this respect he was a great king. If there was no David in Israel's history, it would most likely have been dismantled by numerous empires in the Near East. With the establishment of the Davidic dynasty, Israel will have a basis for overcoming any difficulties.
Although the ark was brought, David had some trouble with his heart. As confessed in verse 2, the reason was the fact that the ark remained inside the veil. So now I'm asking Nathan for advice. If you look at David's attitude in a good way, he is loyal to Yahweh, but from a political point of view, it may be a political statement to bind the hearts of the people to him. Jerusalem, where he lives now, was originally inhabited by the Jebusites, and even after the conquest, various ethnic groups lived together. If so, you would need a central point to tie them together. One of them is to build a temple.
David is a very complex person. He seems to be a faithful man, but he also appears to be a politically prescient man. Therefore, it is not easy to understand David's actions reported in the Old Testament. Perhaps the hearts of the Old Testament writers who directly wrote the story of David, as well as us, must have been very complicated. It must not have been easy to judge David's words and actions. Such concerns are also found in today's text.
shepherd david
Nathan listened to David and did not give a specific answer. “Do whatever you want, for the LORD is with you.” Nathan's words may sound like an exaltation of David, but not necessarily. Maybe it means “You’re good, so do whatever you want!” People tend to give short answers not only when they like what the other person thinks, but also when they don't. The fact that Nathan's words were not necessarily in David's favor is made clear from the fact that he received the word of Yahweh the night after Nathan left a word. This is because it means that David's thoughts are not important, but Yahweh's thoughts. Look at verse 5. “Go to my servant David and say, ‘This is the word of the LORD.’” What was the word of Yahweh that Nathan heard? It has two main contents.
1) Yahweh does not want a house made of pine and white. Look at verse 7, which Yahweh God gave Nathan. “While I was moving from place to place with the people of Israel, did I ever say to a hero who entrusted my people Israel to look after them, why not build my house out of pine and white?” After the Israelites escaped from Egypt, while they were living in the wilderness of Midian, the place where they met with God was the Tent of Meeting. It was a mobile ritual place made of cloth and wood. The ark was placed in the most important space of the tent of meeting. The ark is the great ark in which God dwells. It is said that there was a stone inscribed with the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, and manna. It made David uncomfortable that the ark was still placed inside the veil, that is, the tent of meeting, even when David's political power was firmly established, but Yahweh God did not. It means that the temple made of pine is not the place where God is.
Here we see the conflict that arises between the dynastic tradition and the prophetic tradition. The kings wanted to keep Yahweh God safe for themselves in a certain space, but the prophets could not accept it. Because Yahweh is not a temple built of pine and white like a king, but the whole world is his dwelling place. Paul's idea of building a pine temple for Yahweh is unique, but he misplaced the address.
2) Nathan pointed out that David, who is now shouting, was originally just a shepherd. The Prophet Nathan is a great man. Now David is not a king with a lame duck. He is a high-profile king. To David, Nathan said, “Aren’t you originally from a shepherd?” Says. It is not pleasant for anyone to point out their weaknesses or feelings of inferiority. In front of David, who wants to build a wonderful temple for Yahweh, Nathan dares to say something that can be skipped. In the Bathsheba incident (chapter 11), I don't know if Nathan (chapter 12) had a natural nature to rebuke David.
But now Nathan is not arguing with David. We are just saying things that we can't help but to properly convey Yahweh God. There is nothing man can do for God. No matter how great a king he is, he is only a shepherd before Yahweh God. On the good side, he is an innocent shepherd, on the bad side, he is just a thug. Nathan is telling David to understand it. Rather than revealing the fact that you are the king while talking about the Songbaek Temple, you should figure out the subject.
It was thanks to Yahweh God that the shepherd could become king. In verse 8, Nathan explicitly says: “I brought you out of the pasture, who followed the flock, and made you ruler over my people Israel.” In order to make David the leader, Yahweh God destroyed David's enemies, made his name famous, and did not allow him to be oppressed by the wicked. “I, Yahweh, will raise up a dynasty and make you great.” (11b) Now David has nothing more to say. The useless thought that he would build a Songbaek temple for Yahweh, and the shallow calculations hidden in that thought were all exposed.
But Nathan is not trying to humiliate David. His prophecy ultimately lies in the prosperity of the Davidic dynasty. Look at the last sentence of the prophecy. “Your dynasty, your kingdom, will stretch out before me, and your throne will never be shaken” (verse 16). . As Nathan prophesied, the Davidic dynasty never wavered in Israel. After Solomon's death, North and South were divided, but David's authority did not disappear. On the other hand, in general history, the Davidic dynasty was greatly shaken. It was destroyed by Babylon and devastated by Rome. Why was the Davidic dynasty so shaken in secular history?
God's Discipline
We must view history from a biblical perspective, not from a political engineering perspective. According to this view, the crisis of David's dynasty was caused by the sins of his descendants. Nathan, who prophesied that Yahweh God would establish the Davidic dynasty on a rock, gave one clue. “If he sins, I will punish his children as a man chastises his children with rods and whips.” (14b) Looking at the history of Israel, even though Solomon had accomplished great things, such as building the temple, the kingdom must have been divided. Moreover, almost every king who has ascended since then has been incompetent and corrupt. God punished them with rods and whips. Yahweh God's chastisement and chastisement against the Davidic dynasty continued for the past 2,500 years.
The harshness of Yahweh God's lashing and chastisement means that their sins continued unabated. What the hell did they do? Are you talking about idolatry? Is it social injustice and division? Did Jesus Christ crucify, as some say? Today we do not even know the specifics of it and cannot tell. But we can say this. Sin is not just a shameful act, it is much more essential. And when those essential sins appear in our lives, they appear very specific. That sin manifests itself as a substance that destroys human life and breeds hatred. Yahweh God deals with such sins with rods and whips.
These days, Israel's attack on Lebanon has been criticized by all but one country around the world. Lebanon-based Hezbla militants are attacking two Israeli soldiers they have taken prisoner for not releasing them. It is not Hezbla soldiers who are actually victims of these attacks, but innocent civilians. It is difficult to understand why Israel, which has been persecuted for thousands of years, is so aggressively trying to solve the problem. I don't know all about Israel's plight, but aren't these sins that can also bring God's rod and whip?
Let's organize the words. The content of Nathan's prophecy to David is very clear. The basis for the existence of the Davidic dynasty lies not in David himself, but in the Lord God. When a person succeeds, he thinks it is his ability, but the Bible denies it. It is said that only Yahweh God can accomplish and dismantle it.
Nathan's prophecy that God is the foundation of the Davidic dynasty specifically teaches us two facts. First, we must remember that our foundation of existence is fundamentally weak, just as David was from a shepherd. Second, we must not lose sight of the fact that the sin that appears in our lives undermines even the basis of existence. This means that we can exist only when we are based on God. That God is Jesus Christ. His cross and resurrection do not bury our past, but allow us to overcome the sin that dominates us now. Through Jesus, our life has an unshakable foundation. Entrust your life and destiny to the cross and resurrection of Jesus. Then you will get life.