2 Samuel 7:4, 8-16

2 Samuel 7:4, 8-16 (NRSV)

⁴But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan: ⁸Now 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 to be prince over my people Israel; ⁹and 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. ¹⁰And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly, ¹¹from 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. ¹²When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. ¹³He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ¹⁴I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings. ¹⁵But I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. ¹⁶Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever. 

Observation: When David resolves to build a "house" for God in the form of a permanent temple, God says that isn't necessary yet. Instead, God promises to establish David's "house". God will not abandon David's family line the way God did to Saul. Come what may, God's favor will continue with David's descendants: "I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever."


Application: Early Christians were quick to point out that Jesus of Nazareth, through Joseph's family, was a direct descendant of King David. The title, "Messiah," is Hebrew for "anointed". Anointing a king's head with oil was part of the coronation ritual. From the very early days, we have anointed with oil the heads of newly baptized people, reminding them that they are sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked with the cross of Christ--the anointed Messiah--forever. At certain points in our lives, it can be helpful to receive prayers for healing and wholeness, and to re-trace that cross in oil, reminding people that they are part of a royal family that will reign forever. Jesus is Lord, over the earth, and even over death itself.


It so happens that I received some olive oil in the mail yesterday, from the grounds of Augusta Victoria Hospital, a ministry of Lutheran World Federation in Jerusalem--the city of David. I was able to pull together some donations from friends to support this important healing ministry. As this oil goes out, we will remind those with whom we share it that they belong to the King, Jesus the Messiah.


Prayer: God,you reign forever, and one day you will reign completely. I trust that your kingdom is coming--a kingdom of life, healing, wholeness, and justice--whether I pray for it or not. But I pray today that it may come in ways that I can see it, and take part in it, today. Amen.