King David

Today is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our first reading is 2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16.  The LORD spoke to Nathan and said: “Go, tell my servant David, ‘When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever.’” 

This is one of most significant theological contributions of the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible).  It is 2 Samuel 7 – the oracle of Nathan.  David here is promised an eternal dynasty, and this becomes the basis for the development of royal messianism throughout the Bible. The reign of David is described in 2 Samuel.  

This book of the Bible – almost no Catholic ever reads or to which we seldom refer – would make a fascinating television reality show.  It reveals the strange and complex, yet compelling relationships between Samuel, David, Saul, Jonathan, and Nathan (among many others, especially the women in their lives) involving prophesy, jealousy, conflict, and love.  It’s a book we all should read because it better informs us of David’s “royal throne” that “shall stand firm forever.”

Helping us understand 2 Samuel (and 1 Samuel) is author Jonathan Kirsch's book “King David: The Real Life of the Man Who Ruled Israel” (2000).  Kirsch said: “If David is only anticipated in the early books of the Bible, he is openly celebrated in the books that follow Samuel and Kings, including the Psalms and the prophetic writings.  Even the Christian Bible recalls and honors David, describing Jesus of Nazareth as ‘made of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the ‘Son of God’ (Romans 1:3,4).  The flesh-and-blood David was transformed by these later biblical authors from an earthly king into a celestial one and then into a messianic icon.  That is why he remains the touchstone of theology throughout the Bible.”

I acquired a far better appreciation of Jesus as the “seed of David” and the one sitting on the royal throne through Kirsch’s prodigious work.  You would too.

Deacon David Pierce