Old Testament: 2 Samuel 7:1-16 (Christmas 1: One-Year Lectionary)
The whole Old Testament leans with this unanswered and open-ended question at the end: Is he here yet?
Have you ever wanted your friend or loved one to come to the faith, but it just was not happening? Have you ever asked God to help you to be used as a witness concerning Jesus for that person? Have you ever asked God to do something through you that you considered truly significant for the building of His kingdom and the glory of His name? Mind you, for you, this is not some silly spiritual hype. You are sincere about this. For you it does not come from spiritual vanity. You are honestly not trying to get a notch on your belt for Christ. You just legitimately cannot imagine Heaven without them. You genuinely care for their soul. So, you secretly had a lot of hope that this year would be the year they would come to church, hear the message, and without a doubt this would be the year you would see it happen. But it did not happen that way. You did not see the change, or you did not hear them say the words you ache for them to say. Hope remains elusive for you and your quest for their salvation, and you are left waiting. You even talked with your pastor, and he encouraged you to not give up on your dream and to do what God has placed on your heart. Perhaps you know what this feels like.
That is how Alexa felt about Jeffrey. Jeffrey was not just a friend though, Alexa loved Jeffrey and imagined spending the rest of her life with him. She imagined the home they would make together and the love they would share. Alexa hoped Jeffrey would start going to church with her, to see him feel about God the same way she did, to see church as a second home and place to build their faith together. But there is something you need to know. Jeffrey and Alexa had Cystic Fibrosis (CF), and this made Alexa feel like they were the perfect match. They knew the struggle and they would fight CF together. Not too long-ago, Jeffrey started to get really sick, and his body began to reject the transplants he had received because of the CF. Jeffrey fought for his life and Alexa fought right beside him. She prayed, she battled, and she believed God would deliver Jeffrey through this.
In that time, Jeffrey came to know God in Christ in a simple way and, though not outspoken about his faith, he believed, but Alexa still wanted him to go to church. This for her was so important and a part of her plan for their life together, for them both to be in the House of God and enjoy the full life of participating in the gifts God has for His people. Unfortunately, Jeffrey’s sickness grew worse, and he died. His death left a devastating hole for Alexa. If you were to ask her, she would tell you one of the hardest things for her is the lingering question of Jeffrey’s eternal situation. To her, she always wanted something tangible to know for certain he was in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23:6). She was angry thinking how it was not fair that he might not be there, and she was not shy in letting God have it every now and again.
Have you ever wanted your friend or loved one to come to the faith, but it just was not happening?
Finally, after a long road of grief which is not quite finished yet (and it may never be and that is okay), she came to talk with me about her continued struggle to “know for sure” Jeffrey was in Heaven. She cannot imagine wanting to be in Heaven without Jeffrey. I turned her toward this text from 2 Samuel 7 and shared with her how David wanted the same thing she did. He wanted to build a house for the whole family of God (7:2), where they could all be reassured of the strength and validity of their relationship with God. David lived in a fine cedar house, so why could God not have a place of His own as well? Even Nathan the prophet encouraged David to do whatever was on his heart (7:3) because the motivation was sincere and pious. But then God does the unexpected. He comes back to Nathan, and through the prophet He gives David a promise (7:5) which David would have to trust and believe by faith.
David wanted to build God a house (place to live) and now God gives a gospel handle of His own. Instead, God tells David He will build a house for David (lineage) that will bring about His plan of salvation which is the true hope of David’s heart and the desire of all humanity (7:11-16). I told Alexa that God did for David what David wanted to do for himself. God had a better plan and would do for David and us something far greater than a building. I am sure it was hard for David to hear but God’s ways are better in a sense which is hard to express. I told her David knows what it is like to be disappointed with an answer like that just like you may be disappointed you could not build the home you always wanted with Jeffrey. But God built a better house for a longer time than we have here on earth. Listen to Jesus words in John 14:2: “In my Father’s house are many rooms and I go and prepare a place for you.” Jesus was going to have to be enough for David and Jesus is going to be enough for her too. Jesus is the only tangible proof she has that those who have a simple faith in Him make it to the Father’s house in Heaven forever. I reminded her to hold on to Jesus even as He holds on to you in your grief, because Jeffrey believed in Jesus and though it was a small kind of faith it was a faith placed in the right spot. His faith was placed in the promise that God would deliver him freely and fully on account of Christ. Now it was Alexa’s turn to believe in the promise, that though she will not see it now, like David she will believe in the God who will make it come to pass in His time and in His way. With renewed hope Alexa is setting up a foundation with Jeffrey’s mom called... get this... Jeffrey’s House, which she knows is a home he has with Jesus.
We need to hear that too from time to time. We want to be present to do the things which make for the salvation of others because we want to see the working of God here and now. Yet, God comes and says you will not do it and you cannot do it. Rather, God says He will do what even you and I cannot do. People are no more saved by our efforts than we are. So, in Christmastide God holds before us the Christ child and shows us He can bring about a salvation that will save our souls and the souls of all who trust in Him by a simple, unadorned, and sometimes unchurched faith. It is hard to see the promises of God but by faith we know it would not just be the wood of the manger which would hold Jesus for our salvation. Instead, it would be the wood of the cross that would support the place of God’s salvation for you and me on Calvary. The nativity casts a long shadow to the cross which finally brings joy by the light of Easter morning. The theological teaching which would bring the most comfort from a sermon on this Old Testament text would be that God keeps His promises. God keeps His promise to David, and we know this because of the faithful testimony of the prophets and the lineage that leads to Christ.
In Christmastide God holds before us the Christ child and shows us He can bring about a salvation that will save our souls and the souls of all who trust in Him by a simple, unadorned, and sometimes unchurched faith.
This section of scripture is so easily identified with prophecy about the Messiah that the task for preaching it is almost too easy. Nevertheless, “this emphasis on the Messiah as the descendant of David follows the trajectory set forth in the prophets.[1] The identity of the Messiah is so closely bound up with David that at times the prophets simply call the promised Savior “David” (Jeremiah 30:9; Ezekiel 34:23–24; 37:24–25; Hosea 3:5). The New Testament affirmation of the Davidic identity of the Messiah certainly draws on the prophet’s depiction of a specific descendant of David as the coming Savior, King, and Shepherd (Isaiah 9:6–7; 16:5; Jeremiah 23:5; 30:9; 33:15; Ezekiel 34:23–24; 37:24–25). In addition to identifying the Messiah as the descendant of David, 2 Samuel 7 also teaches He will have an eternal house, throne, and kingdom.”[2]
In the New Testament, the promise to David’s house is one which drives even the organization of the Old Testament in the Hebrew canon. In the Tanakh it ends canonically with the books of Chronicles instead of our customary Malachi. The reason for this unique feature has to do with the fact that Chronicles (as opposed to the books of Kings which tract the apostasy of Israel) is continuously and rhetorically asking this question: Is the Davidic Messiah here yet? With each king it is answered with a resounding: No not yet! So, the whole Old Testament leans with this unanswered and open-ended question at the end: Is he here yet? They are left like David waiting for the promise to be fulfilled, which is why Matthew 1 starts with a genealogy that tracks the Davidic line to finally show the answer is a resounding yes! God has kept His promise in the person and work of Jesus the Messiah. He has kept it for Alexa, Jeffrey, you, me, and the whole of humanity. This inspired ordering of the text highlights “one certainty about the identity of the Messiah. It is that He is a royal descendant of David.”3 Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus acclaims Him “the Son of David” even before His lineage is given (Matthew 1:1; see also Matthew 1:6, 17, 20; Luke 1:27; 3:31). In the Synoptic Gospels, those who appeal to Jesus as the Christ often refer to Him as “Son of David.”4 Jesus compares Himself to David in the narrative of Samuel (1 Samuel 21:1–6) to justify His actions (Matthew 12:3–4; Mark 2:25–26; Luke 6:3–4). Moreover, in a well-known conversation about the Messiah, even Jesus’ opponents acknowledge the Christ is “the Son of David,” and none of them can contest Jesus’ assertion, based on Psalm 110, that the Christ is also David’s “Lord” (Matthew 22:41–46; also refer to Mark 12:35–37; Lk 20:41–44).”5 God has kept His promises and that is the hope we see in Christ and we believe by faith.
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Additional Resources:
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching 2 Samuel 7:1-16.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach 2 Samuel 7:1-16.
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[1] Isaiah 7:13–14; 9:5–6; 11:1–10; 16:3–5; 22:22; 37:35; 55:3; Jeremiah 17:25; 23:5; 33:15; Amos 9:11; Zechariah 12:8, 10; 13:1.
[2] Andrew E. Steinmann, 2 Samuel, ed. Christopher W. Mitchell, Concordia Commentary (Saint Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2017), 130–131.
3 See further “The Promise to David (2 Samuel 7)” and “David and the Messianic Promise” in “Christ in Samuel” in the introduction (Steinmann, 1 Samuel, 23–24, 25–26).
4 Matthew 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30–31; 21:9, 15; Mark 10:47–48; Luke 18:38–39.
5 See also Acts 2:33–35; Ephesians 1:20; Colossians 3:1; Hebrews 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12–13; 12:2; 1 Peter 3:22.
