Samuel Week 2: David, the Shepherd King and the Covenant That Changed History

Why did God reject Saul and choose David? In Week 2 of our Samuel study, we move into one of Scripture’s greatest turning points: the rise of David and the covenant that reshaped biblical history.

We examine David’s anointing, David and Goliath, the wilderness years, covenant friendship with Jonathan, Jerusalem’s rise, and the Davidic Covenant in 2 Samuel 7—the promise that eventually points toward Jesus as the greater Son of David.

Topics include:

• David’s anointing at Bethlehem
• Shepherd theology in the Ancient Near East
• David versus Saul and covenant waiting
• Hesed (covenant loyalty)
• Jerusalem and Zion
• The Davidic Covenant
• Messianic hope in Psalms, Isaiah, Luke, and Acts
• Jesus as the greater Shepherd-King

Samuel begins as a story about Israel wanting a king, but it becomes a story about the coming King.

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Transcript

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Modern mind, ancient book, walk away.

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Did you know that God rejected the kingship built on appearance? But instead brought a king that knew and walked in the ways of God and honored the covenant. God would bring the shepherd king. The people wanted a tall one that was just like the Nephilim. My name is Roger, I'll be your host. This is show two of the book of Samuel. Today we are going to be going through 1st Samuel chapter 16 to 2nd Samuel chapter 10. Because these two scrolls were separated only because of their size. They were written by the same person and they record the same time frame. There are not 1st and 2nd Samuel. There is the book of Samuel. If you'd like to reach out to us, please feel free. ModernmindAdbook.org. We are going back to move forward. We're finding a love for the law, the prophets, and the writings. We want to see Jesus in the world that he lived and know him better for it. The big idea of this week is that David will rise, and so will the covenant of the kingdom. God rejects kingship built on appearance and establishes covenant kingship through David. The center of Samuel and one of the great turning points in Scripture is God's covenant with David. The theme is the rejected shepherd becomes the anointed king, and the promise of an everlasting kingdom enters biblical history. David was anointed in 1 Samuel chapter 16. David versus Saul in 1 Samuel chapter 17 to 31. David is enthroned, 2 Samuel chapters 1 through 6, and the Davidic covenant, 2 Samuel chapter 7. And finally, kingdom expansion and covenant stability and 2 Samuel chapters 8 through 10. Saul is chosen based on height, appearance, and popular expectation. They believe that a king that looks like the world is exactly what they need. They need a powerful one, a warrior, one who can bring the people into power because the nations around them were fighting and winning, and they wanted to be like that. But David was chosen in a hidden way. He was the one that was in the field. He wasn't even originally presented before the prophet, because his father didn't think that he would be chosen. It's unexpected. But it's the kind of thing that God does because it's the one who values the past. It's the one who thinks, the one who sings, the one who dances, the one who rejoices, the one who loves, the one who is careful, the one who knows God and is known by God, the one who enters covenant. That's the one that God chooses. God is always looking for a faithful people. The text that we're going to read is 1 Samuel 16 and verse 7. But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at the appearance or at the height of his stature, because I've rejected him. For God sees not as a man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance. But the Lord, he looks at the heart. This is what governs the whole rest of Samuel. David is anointed in Bethlehem, the house of bread. This should bring to the ears of a Christian because Bethlehem, that's the place of Jesus as well. That's also the place where shepherds would keep the sacrificial lamb. It was very close to Jerusalem. Still is to this day. David means beloved. Davit. That's how you'd say it in Hebrew, Davit. It means beloved. This royal theology begins in the king being beloved. At the house of bread, the food, the way, the substance. These places are named and these stories are constantly told in this way because that later messianic understanding is obvious. The bread and the wine. Jesse is David's father, and his name means gift, or Yahweh exists, the Lord is. In this, there's a shepherd motif. David is introduced as the shepherd before he's introduced as a king. He's the one who was in the field taking care of the flocks. This is a very ancient Near Eastern thing. Kings for millennia before this, and for many millennia before us were known as shepherds. They were the ones who could care for even the least. Sheep are not exactly intelligent creatures. And you have to just care for them, be there for them, defend them, shear them, feed them, keep them from walking off cliffs. Um yeah, Jesus calls us like sheep. Samuel, he transformed this, transforms this uh metaphor ethically. A shepherd protects before he rules. David is also anointed, and this is where I think we could really under gain a lot of understanding, okay? Meshiach, Messiah, Christ, we say Christ. All that means is to anoint. It means to pour oil on it. When Jacob set up rocks and he poured out a libation offering of oil, meaning he poured a liquid on the rocks. He anointed the rocks. Not that they were the mashiach, right? But they were anointed. So the connotation is to pour out oil on the head of David. David is the historical king, but to be anointed is both past or is past, present, and future. It doesn't exist just in one time. The priests were anointed, the king is anointed, in the upcoming future, a man named Cyrus, who is of the nations, a Persian, he's also called an anointed one. Jesus was anointed, but he was anointed in a different way from heaven. And he actually comes in the Davidic line. This is the moment when the kingship becomes tied with the anointed one. This is the moment when God brings the idea of his chosen king, the one who would faithfully rule, and whom he would anoint, into biblical history. Now, David, when he was anointed, he wasn't immediately made king. There's a whole history of this. Saul, the one that was chosen, the one that was asked for, his name means asked for, was given to the people, but he ended up being mentally unfit. David was chosen to play music for him. David, you know, this is one of the amazing tactical things about the Bible. David never did strive to be king. Instead, he understood that he was anointed and that his path was in that direction. Because when God spoke, he believed it. But at the same time, he was brought into the king's home, and he began his training to be the king without actually being thought of as the king. He was there, he was soothing Saul, he was seeing how administration works. He was getting a taste of what it was to be in politics and how it is to live in the king's courts and in the house. He was seeing all the major players, how the generals interact, how the various political aspects are undertook, what decisions are made involving taxes and all this kind of thing. The temple, well not the temple, but the tabernacle administration, religious administration, civil administration. God put him there well before he actually was there to rule, which is wise. And it's something we could learn. I mean, this doesn't have much to do with religion, but it does have much to do with practicality. So consider this. The Bible gives us various forms of law, okay? You have ceremonial, moral, and civil law, which just means the way you worship, the things you're allowed to do, and then the results of that, so like law, you know, as in don't speed kind of thing. Because the religion that we follow is a religion that should encompass everything that you do and everything that you are. It should be nations that live according to what's good in worship of God, and they practice the law that's good in accordance with worship of God, and that's coming one day. But the point of this, the reason that I sidetracked is to say we should learn to be patient, kind, understanding, and that we should go into our vocations willing to be the lesser until we can become leaders. That's who David was. That's the kind of man that God values. Go and work hard and serve, and then you'll be worthy of the next step. Everybody knows the story of David and Goliath. It's found in 1 Samuel chapter 17. But it's it's not a hero story, it's more than that. It's not be brave like David, but instead, it's the Lord God, he saves apart from conventional power. It's not by might, it's not by weapons. The people have already tried that. That's what the book of Joshua and Judges was about. It's not by the might of men, it's not by the weapons that we have, no. What it really is is God is intervening in history, and he brings uh about at the right time the right people for the right reasons, and they can overcome what they shouldn't be able to overcome because God is with them. The circumstances are correct because God's power is present. Now, Goliath, he's representative of champion warfare, and this is a real historical fact. This isn't some made-up story, this is the way that battles were fought at that time. Championship warfare. This conflict, though, is not about a giant versus a boy. Yes, Goliath was a mighty warrior. Goliath was a warrior who was trained from his youth, and David was a shepherd from his youth. That contrast is there right in the scriptures, and that's the difference between the nations, Philistines in this case, and Israel. Because the rival, the rivalry, it's the difference between the vision. Is kingship based on the might of the power of man and our ability to be stronger, to kill better? Or is it based on the might of God who brings true caring kings? Because that's what's at hand right here. The valley of Elah is the valley of the Terebinths. It's trees, and it's a borderland conflict zone. It's an uninhabited area, but it's full of trees, these terebinth trees. This is an important theme. Because it takes it should take your mind back to Genesis. That among the trees there was a decision to be made. Would you go to God, trust God? Would you eat from the tree of life and not take from the knowledge of the world? Or would you go to the knowledge of the world and eat from the wrong tree and be expelled? Well, among the trees, Israel had a choice to make. And in this borderland conflict zone, this is what we learn. Weakness overcomes power. Faith overcomes the spectacle, the prideful ones. And God, he fights for the covenant people. These are biblical echoes. David is involving himself in the seed war. He's the seed of the woman, he's the serpent crusher. When he threw the rock, it sunk into Goliath's head. He crushed his head. The stone to the forehead. This is a huge Eden echo. And it's noted by scholars as so. Now, David is the representative deliverer. And this anticipates Jesus. He's the one who comes from the back from the foot from the field. He's the one that was not in the front. He's the one who was rejected among the brothers. David wasn't chosen first, he was chosen last, and he was hidden by his father. Jesus will be chosen last, and he was hidden by his brothers. But the anointed defeats the enemy, and he does it for the many. Saul's son Jonathan and David had a love for one another and affinity. Because Jonathan was also a faithful man. He believed in God and he tried to walk in his ways. And he ran a foul with his um with his father one time in particular. He ate some honey, this eternal food, among the trees by dipping the tip of his spear into a beehive and having a bit of it, and he was immediately enlivened. The food of God, you know. And Saul wanted to kill him for it. But the people, they were more moral than their king. They said, not Jonathan. Jonathan was a major deliverer. He's the one who actually started the triumphal battery uh battles. He went up and he slaughtered some Philistines. He took courage. He was they were the only ones that had weapons at that time. Because the Philistines would not let the people have weapons of iron. They had to take their plows and their farm tools to the Philistines to be sharpened, and it was very, very expensive even to have them. But he was there and he was faithful. And the people they started to overcome, and they did get weapons because after they destroyed armies, they would take their weapons. But Saul is the counter king, and it's a repeating pattern. Saul grasps, he's constantly fighting for power, he's constantly attempting to make his image better. But he was sick, he was never acting correctly, he was making bad decisions. But during this time, David waits. And it's a huge biblical distinction. The difference between the two is phenomenal. Where Saul is grasping and trying to be king with all of his might and never receiving the credit that he believes he deserves, regardless of what he does, David was always respected. Saul has killed his thousands, but David has ten thousands. Because when God is with you, you're always in good shape. Even when the world hates you. Take the brother of Jesus, James. He was well known and well loved in the temple in the first century. And yeah, he was murdered, but he had a very good reputation with the people. Because he followed after God, and he was generous and kind and faithful. And that's who we're supposed to be. Men like David, men like James, the brother of Jesus, those who are willing to forego what they believe they deserve, waiting in anticipation for God to answer. Engedi is the place of the goat. And it's in Engedi, Engedi, I guess is the way you would say it, where David spares Saul. Two times to this point, David refuses to kill Saul and take the throne. Because he knows that God is at work. He knows that the people asked for Saul and they got what they asked for, and God has not removed Saul. So he's just patiently waiting. He's waiting for the opportunity that God will deliver. He will not make the way. Do you hear the echoes of Eden? The Lord said, There are two trees. Well, there are many trees, and there's one tree you cannot eat from. David is not taking. On the other hand, David or Saul is seeking David to take and devour him. But God is protecting him. David will not take by violence. God must give. This is biblical kingship. And that's exactly who Jesus was, wasn't it? He said that he could call a legion of angels to defend him, but instead he was willing to lay down his life until that day when he gets to come back as king, the true lion of Judah, the true king in the Davidic line, where he'll bring the violence that's necessary to overcome wickedness. The Joshua generation, the book of Judges, all of that will be rectified. But not until it's time. David is the image of that. He's the one who teaches us what Jesus was going to be and how he was going to live. There's a wilderness motif in this. David in the wilderness. This echoes being removed from Eden. Takes you all the way back to Genesis. It's Moses and the people, Israel in the wilderness. But it's also the future Jesus testing. He goes out to the wilderness. And we are left in the wilderness without a king in a dark world until the king returns. The kingship is formed in exile before the throne is erected. Now is our opportunity to live this as believers. Are we out there willing to give up our lives? Willing to teach the truth? Willing to love the Bible over our televisions or our phones? Are we willing to meditate on these things and think deeply about them and become the one new man? Are we willing to allow the wisdom of God within us to dictate the way that we would live our lives? And our stature would then grow, and we would then become the powerful ones on the earth, calling people to repentance. We're sure this kingdom might come against you, and it may destroy you. In many places that's true. Persecution today is horrible. It's all over the world. Our people are being ruthlessly murdered. Those who are called by the name. But it doesn't matter. Because God will make that right. What matters is we say, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Love your neighbor as yourself and love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. That's who we're supposed to be. David is the image of that. Jesus, he was the true image of that. After David was killed, and this is in 2 Samuel chapter 1, David doesn't rejoice over the death of his enemies. Instead, he mourns. And there's a song here, the song of the bow. David's kingship, it wasn't defined by triumphal strength. It was defined by grief. David understood that death entered the world and that this is unnatural. He understood that Saul went the wrong way. He understood that Saul was a violent man, but he did not want the death of Saul. He wanted Saul to live. He loved Saul. He was his fellow countrymen. Jesus taught us this that we're not supposed to look onto our enemies as enemies. We're supposed to look at them as our neighbors and do good to them. That's who David was. David was that man. I'm going to read this. Now it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag. On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. Then David said to him, From where do you come? And he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. David said to him, How did things go? Please tell me. And he said, The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead also. So David said to the young man, who told him, How do you know? The young man told him, By chance I happened to be on Mount Giboah, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear, and behold the chariots and horsemen. They pursued him closely. When he looked beside him, he saw, and he called to me and said, Here I am, he said to me, Who are you? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. Then he said to me, Please stand before beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me. So I stood behind him and killed him, because I knew he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which is on his head and the bracelet which is on his arm, and I brought them here to my Lord. Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and he also and all the men who were with him. They mourned and wept and fasted until the evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. That's David. God delivered him to him the crown. But that's not what he wanted for Saul, and that's certainly not what he wanted for Jonathan. How the mighty have fallen. This is the way. There is no strength that will keep you from death. There is no battle that will keep you from death. There is no weapon that will keep you from death. There's only God's mercy and grace. And David understood that. That death has entered the world, and that is not. There's nothing to rejoice in. Where death has entered, there's only the fallen nature of man. Until we are redeemed, we mourn. Jesus told us that we have to give up our lives in this world. And that if we seek to save it, we will lose the true life. I believe David fully understood that. And that's why he cried out how the mighty have fallen. David becomes king. 2 Samuel chapter 2 through 6. In Hebron, this should ring a bell. This takes you back to Abraham. Abraham was in Hebron. Hebron. Hebron? I don't know how you say it really. Let's know this Hebrew way. So there, that's where Abraham camped. That's where Abraham spent a good part of his life. And that's where this ancient Mesopotamian idea existed with Abraham of the Davidic kingdom. But not the Davidic kingdom, the shepherd king. David actually records something more ancient than the Mosaic Covenant. Even though that idea is now tied to the Mosaic Covenant, because David will rule over the laws and the rules of the nation as given by Moses. It's the more ancient version of the king that was the true king, the true way. It's the one tied to Abraham. Abraham never goes away. He colors everything. He's the father of faith, faith. In Hebron, the word means association or alliance. And David first reigns partially here, just over two tribes. The kingdom, it comes progressively because David grew in stature. He began to receive more and more respect. The people of Benjamin, they followed after Saul's relatives. But it wasn't long before everybody came under David. Because David was the greater king. He was the one chosen by God, the humble one, the broken one, the one who mourned over the death of his enemies and did not rejoice. The one who walked in God's ways. And it was David that took Jerusalem. David is the one who took the holy city in God's name. He redeemed it to be again the place of the most high God. This is where Melchisedek was. David replaces Melchisedek, the king for the king, the follower of the most high for the follower of the most high. And this is likely the foundation of peace. When David captured the city, that political center became covenant center. This is the place known as Zion. This is the fortress that becomes the theological symbol where Jesus will reign. Later, this is where the temple is placed. It is most certainly a kingdom symbol, and it's most certainly a messianic or Christ pointing symbol. The biblical trajectory begins at this very moment. Jerusalem is a place of collision. Even today it's contested. The Muslims have claimed the Temple Mount, but Israel has also claimed the Temple Mount. This is where a future war will be held. The seed war will culminate in this place. The place that God's king conquered, and God's king will conquer. During David's time, the Ark leaves Shiloh and comes to Jerusalem. And this is where David dances. And his wife looks on him as if he's degrading himself. But he says, if you think this is degrading myself, I will do even more for the glory of God. David didn't think of himself as a king first. He thought of himself as a worshiper first. That's a huge, huge meditative moment for all of us. If we were to consider that, if we were to look on that, if we were to emulate that, then we would see that the way of Jesus, the purified Judaism of Jesus, it's not a set of laws and rules, it's not a political structure, it's not a civil structure, it's not even a religious structure. It's the internal man, the true you, the true heart of a person, worshiping with abandon, the God who gave all. As David danced. Kingship is linked to worship. Jesus prayed every single day. He showed us what it was to be a true covenant worshiper. How's your prayer life? Do you speak to God every day? Paul said we should talk to him every moment. He's a friend, he's a help, he's a witness. And if you remember all that he's done, you'll find nothing but reasons to worship and seek his power. The power of the kingship submitted to the presence of God, all in obedience to God. And this is Samuel theology. This is probably the center of the book. This is what means the most in the book of Samuel, first and second Samuel. The center of Samuel is the Davidic kingdom, and it's Samuel chapter 2, or I'm sorry, 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now I dwell in a house of Cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains. Nathan said to the king, Go do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you. But in the same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord, You are the one, are you the one who should build me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle, a temporary dwelling. That's what that means. It's a sukka, temporary dwelling. Whenever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house? Now 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 a ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all of your enemies from before you, and I will make you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they may live there in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly. Even from that day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and I will give you rest from all your enemies, the Lord also declared to you that the house or I'm sorry, that the house of the Lord will be there is what I meant to say, but the Lord will make a house for you. David asked to make a house for God, but God will make a house for us. Tell me that's not about Jesus' coming. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of the kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but my loving kindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. This was looking forward to um Shlomo, I keep forgetting the English name, Solomon. This was looking forward to Solomon, but not Solomon, because Solomon could never be the son of God, nor could he ever have the Father be God. It was more than that, because Solomon wouldn't last forever, but he did get corrected by the sons of men, which just means the rulers, right? The rulers, the people who call themselves the gods on this earth. Israel fell and collapsed after Solomon. It wasn't Solomon. This is the letter the literary center of the book, though. This is Samuel's theological center. Everything in this book moves towards this, both front and back. Now, this is really interesting because shovelots or the feast of Pentecost is coming up here. And they, the people, the disciples, they were in the house, the raitr. And people think that that's like the upper room. But this is where the temple begins to be called the house. David wants to build a raitr for the Lord, the temple in Israel. It's known as the V'itr, the house. It's the house where God dwells. It means a house, a dynasty, a temple. David wants to build this for God, but God promises a house for David. This is narrative reversal, but it's renewal, a promise to the future. That is David's line, despite its failure in the flesh, would not fail forever. God promises him a great name, the name above all names, Yeshua Jesus. He promises that the land will forever exist and be ruled by the Davidic King in the name of Jesus. He promises a royal sonship will come, the Son of God, the name of Jesus. And he promises an enduring throne, one that will never end, that is not ever going to end, ruled from Jerusalem by the King Jesus. The core royal promise is that his throne will be established forever in the line of David. If you know Jesus' theology lineage, you know he's in the line of David. Royal Sonship. The Son of God, Son of Man, the rightful ruler, and the divine one. This is the later foundation, one that has not yet come. This is massively important for Psalm 2, 89 and 132. The book of Isaiah is all focused on this. The Gospel of Luke focused on this. And the Acts of the Apostles. Without 2 Samuel 7, messianic theology just it wouldn't look the same. This is what scholars call the Davidic covenant. But covenant theology can't answer the question because it assumes that this was made for in two people, but it wasn't made for in two people, it was made for people by God, and God is the king. If G listen, if Jesus is the king of a kingdom, then all of his people are under him, both the living and the dead. It's about who is the king. If you identify Jesus as your king, if you identify God's house as the king's house, then the temple is yours. Then Israel is your people, then Avram is your father. Then Noah was a faithful one in your line. Adam was the one who fell, but he's also the first Adam. Jesus is the second, the one who fixed that. You're looking back to Eden, but you're looking forward to Eden. And you've identified with all that God has done all through history, and that's become your history. If Jesus is King, this is truth. After this, the kingdom expands, and there's a bunch of victory narratives. It's not triumphal propaganda, though. It's a theological statement. The covenant king brings ordered peace. Not just by strength, but by goodness, by living correctly, by peace. Mephiboshe. This is found in 2 Samuel 9, and this is exactly what I'm talking about. Then David said, Is there yet another left in the house of Saul that I might show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now there was a servant in the house of Saul whose name was Zeba. And they called him to David, the king, and said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. The king said, Is there not yet anyone in the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God? And Ziba said to the king, There is still a son, Jonathan, who is crippled in both feet. So the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Makir, the son of Amiel and Lodabar. When King David sent and brought him from the house of Makir, the son of Amiel and Lodabar, Mephiboshet, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, Mephiboshet, and he said, Here's your servant. David said to him, Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you shall eat at my table regularly. Do not fear. When there is a turning, when the enemies are overcome, he doesn't utterly destroy, he restores. This is the goodness of God. We say that the Mosaic Covenant is a covenant of law, but David was the king over Israel during the Mosaic Covenant times, and did he utterly destroy his enemies? No. If you are in the line, if David is your king, the greatest David, then there's mercy. You just come before him, you bow down, and you say, Have mercy on me, and you'll get exactly what happened in Mephiboshetz. You'll get to eat at the table. David made a descendant of Saul who tried to kill him an honored one, an owner of great lands, an owner of great ra wealth, and one who got to eat from the best food. Available to Israel. This is the gospel-like pattern. This is David showing us who Jesus would be, and Jesus showing us exactly why David did this. It's covenant kindness, it's royal mercy, it's peace through justice. It's the heart of the matter. The Leval. It's the interior loyalty. It's coming from the inside out. Jesus told us that if you say you fool, you're guilty of murder. Why? Because murder comes from the inside. You have to hate to plan. You have to plan to execute. Jesus says, have kindness, joy, and peace. Have mercy, have love for your brother, your neighbor. Treat them as you would like to be treated. That's a good way. That's the chesed. That's the covenant love. That's the way of Jesus. That's the purified Judaism of David, of Jesus. That's the way that Jonathan walked. When Saul wanted to kill David, Jonathan gave grace. Jonathan explained to David what was happening and facilitated his escape so that he might live. David loved Jonathan, and Jonathan loved David. And David loved Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth was spared. Because God loved David. That's the way. You give because it was given first. In the garden when we fell, it was written that we should die. We should surely die. And we did, but it wasn't immediate. Instead, they were just taken out of the garden, and then natural life took its course. Why? Because there's always time. And from the fall, from the seed, in the seed, there's a line that's failing and that will be forsaken. But there's also a line that God loves. There's always a remnant. To see this as your covenant history, to see this as your history, to be willing to become the one new man, united with Israel, united with Jesus, to walk the way, to live in the glory of God, through the wisdom of God that's been given to us over many thousands of years. This is the kingdom through waiting. This is the kingdom by rejection of grasping, by rejecting definitions, by rejecting false theology, by instead being known by the name of God, trusting him and accepting his kingship. This is the biblical pattern. The shepherd king is a motif, and it's common in Mesopotamian kingship circles. Samuel reshapes it into a biblical motif. Isn't that interesting? Abraham's theology is carried through. Abraham was the father of faith, and his theology is not something you can throw out. The ancient Mesopotamian world was the covenant before the Mosaic covenant. God is older than the laws given to Moses. Just think about that a little bit. Jerusalem was a political innovation. It was always the trajectory. That's why we met Melchizedek. Because the king of righteousness would rule over Jerusalem. David is in the line of Melchisedek. It was a neutral tribal city. But this is the political move that it would become the head, the lead, the place of the worship of the Most High again. But the implications are larger than just politics, it's a background thing. 2 Samuel 7 is a royal grant treaty. It's an important insight because Samuel transforms the genre. It's not just a treaty between kings. This is a treaty of God to a line of men. That there would forever be a king in the flesh in Jerusalem. But how could there be a king forever if people die? It had to be something greater, didn't it? Why is David chosen while Saul overlooked? Well, because Saul ruled by his own might and David waited on God. Why does David teach about waiting for God's promise? Because that's exactly who we should have been in the garden. It's calling back to the garden motif and saying, look, he's not like those who fell. He's one who waits and who waits on God. He's one who goes to the right tree. He's eating of the sustenance, not of what he's not allowed. He's waiting for God to answer. Why does David refuse to kill Saul? Same reason. Because God will answer. Human beings are not the destroyer of men. We're the ones who wait for the king to do what he must. Why is Samuel, 2 Samuel 7, the central to all the biblical theology? Because the king is gonna rule on earth from Jerusalem forever. Just think about that a little bit. What kind of king is Samuel presenting? It's not just a man. David points beyond David. Jesus fulfills this. He's the true shepherd king, the faithful son, the greater anointed one, the eternal Davidic ruler, the one who was betrayed by his brothers, but will be recognized by his brothers. Israel is Mephiboshet. They will be restored. They're not Jesus' murderers. They're people who haven't recognized their brother yet. You cannot look at Israel with disdain like that. Judge not lest you be judged. As you judge, it will be judged unto you. You are the wild branch, they are the natural branch, but there's one root, and Jesus wishes to bring them back into covenant. Have mercy on your neighbors and love them and become one with God's people, whom he will restore. Because Jesus embodies kingdom fulfillment. Week two material has a literary structure. A David anointed, B. David suffers in the wilderness, C. David is enthroned, D. The Davidic covenant, C, the kingdom is established, B. Enemies are subdued, and then A, the Davidic son, is anticipated. David will continue to rule. This is God's covenant promise. And here are some key Hebrew terms. Meshiach, the anointed one, Christ. David is a prototype. In the New Testament, when you see house, don't always assume it means a private residence. This name carries through in Israel. This is part of what it is to understand the temple. It's the v'yit, the house of God. This is a central word in 2 Samuel 7. David wanted to build the temple. The temple is called the House, the Vra'it. The Chesed. That's the steadfast covenant loyalty. And this is what the way means. When I say walk the way, when I invite you to walk the way, I mean practice chesed. Have steadfast covenant loyalty. Live as if Jesus is King, and that his kingship is now, and that his people are your people, and meditate on everything that you learn as you learn it and never give up learning. Learn the Bible, walk the way. Shalom. That's not just the absence of war, that's peace. But it's ordered covenant peace. It's a kingdom goal. Shalom has meeting. Week one showed why human kings fall. Week two reveals what true kingship looks like. A shepherd is chosen, a covenant is sworn, a throne is promised. And all the scripture begins leaning toward Messiah. Samuel is no longer merely about Israel getting a king, it becomes about the coming of the king. We're on to week three next week. We're going to continue through until we finish the entire two books of Samuel. We have two more weeks left. This is the center section, which is also the theological center section. I hope that you've enjoyed this. If you had, please feel free to reach out to us at modernmindatbook.org. There's a contact form there. There's also some stuff for you to look at. Please feel free to peruse the site. If you would like to leave a message, please do comment, like, subscribe, share this with your friends. We really want people to see Jesus for who he truly is. He is the shepherd king. Lord bless you today. May he make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you and turn his face towards you and bring you shalom. Shalom for now.