By Marcia Rossiter

2 Samuel 7:12-19 – “…When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. …” (NIV) (prophesied around 1000 B.C.)

Matthew 1:1 “An account of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” (NIV)

In 2 Samuel 7:13, Nathan receives a prophecy that he shares with King David. God tells David that He will build David’s kingdom and establish the throne of his kingdom forever. He repeats it again in verse 16.

When I was preparing to write this piece I read the wrong verse, and I loved the wrong verse. I realized I read it for a reason. If you look down a few lines to verses 18-19, you will see David’s reaction to hearing Nathan’s prophetic words spoken over him.

We read: “Then King David went in and sat before the LORD, and he said, ‘Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of your servant – and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!’” (NIV)

Do you hear it? The awe of David, the youngest of his brothers, the one forced to shepherd his father’s flocks. I imagine that may have been what he thought. Who am I?

David was the second king of Israel, and the first was not a relative. And he promised his kingdom would be established forever!

A thousand years later a baby would be born that was a direct descendant of David, born in the same town, born in a lowly position like his forefather David. Born to claim David’s throne forever.

Food For Thought: This Christmas season take some time to sit in awe at the story woven through history by the one who sits on David’s throne.