The Promised King

2 Samuel 7:12-16

Immanuel – 12/21/25

          We are four days away from Christmas. Are you ready?

When I ask, “Are you ready?” I imagine you took that to mean, “Have you gotten all of your presents and prepared for your family traditions?”

So close to Christmas, it’s such a common question. I’ve heard it asked a few times. Just the other day I was standing in a check-out line, and the cashier was chatting up the man in front of me. As the transaction was ending, she casually asked him, “Are you ready?”

          It really got me thinking. On one hand, I know what she meant, and that she was just trying to be friendly. On the other hand, it’s very likely she had no idea how packed her words were with cosmic significance.

          Days before Christmas: Are you ready?

          Notice two things about the question. First, “Are you ready?” indicates anticipation. Something is coming, about to happen. A change is imminent, it’s inevitable, it’s coming.

          Second, “Are you ready?” means you should be doing something while you wait for the thing you anticipate.

          With the question, “Are you ready?” there’s anticipation and there’s action. If you do not anticipate, if you do not act, you are not ready.

          I anticipate you already know I’m not talking about what will happen in four days. There is something much larger we should all be anticipating, and it demands action from our lives. More than any other thing, Christmas points us to this great activity of anticipation. Advent demands action.

          Because the King has come, and he is coming again!

          In our first Sunday of Advent, we saw that Jesus is the Promised Seed. He is the one promised to our first parents, the one to crush the head of the serpent, defeat Satan, and break our curse.

          Last week Eric Moore did a tremendous job opening the Scriptures to show us that Jesus is the Promised Prophet, spoken of by Moses. Profoundly more than Moses, Jesus reveals the Living God to humanity – to us! Truly, I was blessed as I listened to Eric preach this awesome truth!

          Today we see that Jesus is the Promised King, the kind of king our hearts long for. Christmas reminds us that the King has come, born into obscurity and poverty. Christmas reminds us that the King is coming again. Are you ready?

          For many of us, the story of Jesus’ birth is very familiar: The Holy Spirit overshadowed the virgin Mary and she conceived. Despite the appearance of scandal, Joseph married her. When Caesar called for a census, Joseph and the very pregnant Mary were compelled to travel to Bethlehem. Finding no room in an inn, they took shelter with animals, and there Mary gave birth to a son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger.

Jewish shepherds and eventually Gentile Magi came to worship Mary’s child. Their worship reflected an ancient prophecy, a prophecy of a coming king, born to the Davidic line, and he would rule the world forever.

          About 1,000 years before Jesus was born, God made a covenant with David – Israel’s greatest king. Let me set up the prophesy. Scripture repeatedly refers to David as a man after God’s own heart. As a man after God’s own heart, David desired to build a temple for God. But God said “No.”

          In 2 Samuel 7:1 we learn that David had peace from his enemies. Though it was a peace from God, David fought for that peace. He was a warrior-king, and he vanquished the foes that threatened God’s people. There was a popular song in those days, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:17). As David said, this is why God did not allow him to build a temple.

          “I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, ‘You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.’”                                                           -1 Chronicles 28:2-3

          The peace David experienced came at the cost of many lives. Yes, he vanquished the enemies of God, but he did it through war. Blood stained hands would not build the holy temple. But God is steadfast in his love, and abounding in mercy. It was a good desire David had, wanting to build a temple for God. Flawed as he was, David’s heart was after God. As a deer pants for water, David’s soul thirsted for God (Psalm 42:1).

          So God blessed David and made a covenant with him – an everlasting promise. We call it the Davidic Covenant. Let me read it again.

          Read 2 Samuel 7:12-16

God did not allow Daivd to build a house for him. Instead, God would build a house for David. God’s covenant was not about a palace. God was going to build a dynasty for David, where one of David’s descendants would always sit on the throne.

But notice in these verses, God is not talking about all the sons that would descend from David. He is talking about a single son, an anointed king that would rise from David’s lineage.

Listen to the six promises God makes about this Promised King.

1.      Verse 12: He would descend from David’s lineage.

2.      Verse 13: He would build the temple.

3.      Verse 13: His kingdom would last forever.

4.      Verse 14: God would be a father to him, and he a son.

5.      Verse 14: He would take the discipline of common men.

6.      Verse 15: God’s love would never depart from him.

All these about the Promised King. But wait, there is more! God spoke to David, but through David, God was speaking to the Anointed King. Here’s a portion of what David records in his 2^nd Psalm.

The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.

                                                                                      -Psalm 2:7-8

          The Promised King wouldn’t merely be king over a strip of land in the Middle East, the nations would be his heritage. He would rule over the ends of the earth. The Promised King would be a son, begotten by God, and he would rule the world.

          God builds on his promise through the prophet Isaiah.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.                                                                        -Isaiah 9:6-7

          Can you see the awesome promise God poured into the Davidic King? A child, born to Israel, who would rule on the throne of David. But this king would be like no earthly ruler.

          We yearn for what earth has never produced: a truly good king, a king of peace, the type of king promised through Isaiah, who will forever rule in justice and righteousness. He would be called the Prince of Peace, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father and Mighty God. Hear that! The promised Davidic King would be divine. He would be from God – begotten – and he would be God!

 And of this Divine King, the increase of his kingdom will never end. His peace will never be snuffed out. His kingdom would start in Jerusalem, from the seat of David, and spread and spread, like a seed planted in a garden that grows into a tree, a tree that fills the whole garden.

Solomon, Rehoboam, Asa, Hezekiah, Josiah, none of the kings descended from David lived up to these promises. One way or another, they all fell short. They became increasingly wicked. Eventually, God sent Babylon to invade and break the line of corrupted kings. For the first time, no king sat on David’s throne. The great Davidic dynasty was cut down – a stump was left where the mighty tree once grew.

Psalm 89 overflows with lament at this tremendous loss.

You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust…Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David? Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations, with which your enemies mock, O Lord, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.                         -Psalm 89:39,49-51

          Hear the heartbreak! The hope of Israel, the hope of the nations, seemed destroyed: like a dead stump in a barren land. The nations mocked Israel; not only had their Promised King never come, they had no king. Worse still, they were subject to oppressive and pagan kings.

          The cry of David became the cry of Israel.

          How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

How long shall my enemies be exalted over me?           -Psalm 13:1,2

          How many of us know this cry? Who among us are pleased by what we see coming out of Washington, or Albany? The most vulnerable of our population are slaughtered by the millions. What’s good is called evil, and what is evil is called good. It seems the infection, the curse, lies over every land.

How long, O Lord? How long?

          But in the day when the ancient Davidic line was failing, in the midst of tremendous despair, God spoke promises once again. Remembering, David’s father was named Jesse, God spoke,

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth.                             -Isaiah 11:1-4

          God had not forgotten his promises. The King was coming still. Though the dynastic tree of David was cut down and appeared dead, a sprout would spring forth! The Righteous King, the Prince of Peace was coming still!

          But first, centuries of waiting passed. Meanwhile, Israel would be passed from oppressor to oppressor. From the Babylonians to the Medes to the Greeks to the Romans. Always the Jews were waiting, still clinging to that hope of deliverance, deliverance from the Son of David.

          Far from palaces, far from nobility, far from Jerusalem, far from expectations, a sprout sprung forth. God loves to work in unexpected places: a poor and young maiden, humble and God fearing, an extremely obscure descendant of David. Out of nowhere, one random, predestined day, and angel appeared to Mary. Hope of hopes, the promise made to David was about to come true! The angel said to her,

Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.                  -Luke 1:31-33

The Davidic King was coming, and he would come through the womb of an unknown virgin. Mary descended from David, and through another line, so did Joseph. In fulfillment of Scripture, Jesus was born in Bethlehem – the city of David.  The Son of David, the Son of God, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lain in a manger.

Of this little infant, remember the angel’s words to Mary: He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

In righteousness and justice, Jesus grew. His whole life was oriented by love of God. He healed the sick and loved the poor. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. In profound humility and unashamed truth, he boldly proclaimed the arrival of the kingdom of God. This was truly God’s Son, perfectly living life according to the will of the Heavenly Father!

Then, to open the doors of his kingdom to all mankind, Jesus went to the cross. To understand why, let’s consider our sin for a moment. Each of our sins stand as an offense against God, each one like a slap to his face.

What would happen to you if you slapped a stranger in the face? You would probably get slapped right back. Assault charges might even be brought against you.

What would happen if you slapped a police officer in the face? I imagine you’d spend some time behind bars.

What if you slapped the president? You’re definitely spending a long time far away from everything you love.

See how with each increase of authority, the consequence gets more severe? God has all authority. What do you think happens when – through your repeated sinning – you slap him in the face?

The answer: death everlasting, eternal separation from everything you love.

But Jesus, who committed no offense, who lived a perfect life, took the consequence you deserve. He took your death. He was forsaken by the Father. The King died in place of his subjects. When Jesus died on the cross like a criminal, he took the discipline of common men.

But the Father so loved his only begotten Son, he could never let his love depart. So the Father raised his Son from death to life, that he could lavish his everlasting love upon Jesus into eternity. An everlasting Son means an eternal Father. God’s love would never depart from him!

Jesus, the Son of David, is the King who lived a perfect life. He is the King who died in place of his subjects. He is the King who overcame death. And now the Father has seated Jesus on heaven’s throne, where he reigns with all authority in heaven and on earth. The same righteousness he lived by is the same righteousness by which he reigns. Is there anyone more qualified to wield power, infinite? He is over all, and rules all, and all beings are subject to his name!

Now all people everywhere are summoned to repent from their sinful unbelief, and pledge their lives to this great King! Believe that in Jesus’ sacrificial death you have forgiveness of sins. Trust in the Father’s beloved Son, and you shall be loved as a son or daughter. And just as the Father raised Jesus from death, so too will all his sons and daughters burst from the grave to life everlasting!

Everyone who believes is granted access to the kingdom of Christ. It doesn’t matter who holds power on earth, every heart that bows before Jesus is a subject of his kingdom first. Come persecution! Come martyrdom! Jesus is the King of our hearts, and we will bow our hearts to no other ruler!

As I said, every heart that bows to Jesus is added to his kingdom. Look at it’s increase 2,000 years later! From Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. Compared to it’s origins, the Mohawk Valley is on the ends of the earth! And still Christ’s kingdom increases, from generation to generation, moving into parts yet unreached. There is no indication that Christ’s kingdom is slow, but it continues it’s growing! And it will grow into eternity!

Unlike the kingdoms of men, Christ’s kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness, joy, and peace! (Romans 14:17)

And how about the Son of David building his temple? When we surrender our hearts to Jesus, the Spirit of Christ dwells within our hearts. We become the living stones of God’s holy temple.

 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house.

                                                                                      -1 Peter 2:4-5

Out of us, brothers and sisters, Jesus is building his new temple. Together, joined by faith, we are the temple of the living God, which Jesus is building with blood stained hands.

David was forbidden from building God’s house with bloody hands, for they were coated in the blood of the slain. But the blood that covers Jesus’ nail-pierced hands is his own, slain for God’s enemies, that enemies could become friends, that enemies could not only enter the temple, be joined to it.

Jesus is the promised Son of David, builder of the everlasting temple, with a kingdom of eternal increase, God’s own Son, who took the punishment we deserve, and selflessly gave up his life trusting the Father’s love would never depart from him. And it never did. And it never will.

This is why Jesus is King over heaven and earth. He is worthy! He is worthy! He is worthy!

What should we know? Jesus is the promised Davidic King, and through him the throne of David endures forever.

What should we believe? Believe Jesus is King and bow your heart to him alone! He is worthy of your life. Devote yourself not to your-self, but to him who died and rose and reigns forever!

What should we do? Jesus is coming again, he has promised! Until he does, prepare and proclaim!

Prepare: What part of your life do you need to surrender to him? Your online life? Your finances? Your need to control? Your addiction? Your fear? When he returns, do you really want to be clinging to these things?

Proclaim: Jesus is King, Lord over all! The nations are his heritage. Right here in the Mohawk Valley I have personally met people from Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Yemen, The Gambia, Guatemala, China, Myanmar, Canada, and more – all of them living here. Then there are all those Americans longing for the promise of a righteous King. We need to tell them that the King has come! They need to hear it. How are they to believe if they have never heard? This is your job, citizens of the kingdom and ambassadors of Jesus Christ.

Go, tell it on the mountain, and in the valley, from the street corner, and in your family gathering.

Prepare and proclaim!

Jesus is coming. Are you ready?