A Family Mystery

I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.
2 Samuel 7:14

Emperors and kings of old and modern-day royals in many nations concern themselves with questions of succession. Who will be the heir to the throne? Who will keep the dynasty alive? Who will carry on the family legacy?

Early in his reign over Israel, the famous King David may have been mulling over these very same questions. It was then that the Lord came to the prophet Nathan in a vision and told him to share a message with the king. The message was a covenant, or promise, that God was making to David concerning his line of succession: “I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.”

David’s immediate successor, his son Solomon, would indeed follow in his father’s footsteps, leading the nation of Israel, expanding their power, and building an amazing temple to the Lord. Though David’s family would eventually lose their grip on the throne, his royal bloodline would continue for 1,000 years, all the way to a young peasant woman named Mary, who would give birth to another Son of David, Jesus.

When we hear God’s promise to David concerning his heir, “I will be his father, and he will be my son,” we can be certain that he is referring not only to Solomon, but also to the Son whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.

God promised that “when he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands,” but Jesus never sinned. Instead, our Savior Jesus would exchange his life of perfection for our lives of sin, taking all the punishment David, Solomon, and we deserve by enduring the floggings inflicted by human hands and dying a painful but innocent death on the cross. His ensuing resurrection Easter Sunday confirms his status as the King of all creation and ruler over sin, death, and the power of hell.

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the awesome and mysterious way you kept your promises to David that our Savior, your Son Jesus, would be his descendant. Forgive us for our selfish worrying and help us to focus on the amazing way that life plays out just the way you design. Amen.

Professor Paul Huebner serves Martin Luther College
as head football coach and athletics recruiter.