In today’s reading from 2 Samuel, we get David’s response to God’s response to David’s request to build the temple. We hear David’s prayer of thanksgiving in response to God telling David that he is going to establish his throne forever. We hear David’s humble song of amazement at this idea. But it’s probably safe to say that David might not have been as joyously bewildered if he had known exactly how God was going to establish his throne forever.
To summarize it briefly, the first son from David’s body to sit on his throne would be Solomon, the son born from David’s adultery. Solomon would go on to commit spiritual adultery by setting up altars to demons in order to please his wives, which would lead God to tear David’s kingdom in half during the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. Then, after a series of mostly evil kings with a few holy highlights in between, both of those kingdoms would be conquered by foreign power. The Israelite people would be slaughtered and scattered, the royal offspring of David sitting on his throne would be led away into captivity chained and blinded, and the temple David hungered to build would be torn to pieces.
But then, several hundred years later, while a murderous Edomite puppet of the Roman Empire sat on David’s throne, a root from the stump of Jesse would appear. The Son of David would be born in the city of David, not in a palace, but in a place of lowliness, placed into a manger as lowly shepherds adored him. That Son was the one who would reign from David’s throne forever because that Son was who was the temple. He was the Son who would fulfill every promise of forgiveness, salvation, eternal life and eternal victory made in the house of God that David hungered to build, the Son who would be torn down and rebuilt in 3 days, thereby building the kingdom that could never be torn down.
So even though David would have a million reasons to weep as he considered the journey from promise to fulfillment, He still had every reason to rejoice because the will of God would never be thwarted and the reign of everlasting peace would begin exactly when it had to, when it needed to, and when God appointed it to. Remember this when the journey from your baptism until the last day is filled with sorrows. As you weep waiting for the fulfillment of the promises given to you in those waters, remember the journey from David to Christ, from temple to true temple. God’s kingdom will come. His will shall be done. And as the world of sorrows rages, He will keep you safely in the palm of his hand, always and forever drying your every tear.
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