Davidic Covenant

Hi everyone,

I've been very busy as midterms are arriving and Spring Break is almost here, so I apologize for my lack of participation on the board if I have left any posts unanswered. I gave this presentation to a friend yesterday to explain the basis of Catholicism and thought it would be appropriate for everyone here. Unfortunately, I will be unable to follow up on it, and I promise you that it's worth your time to investigate.

This is why Jesus is referred to as the Son of God, Son of David, and the Christ.

Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Davidic covenant and transform/elevate the Davidic Kingdom by grace into the Kingdom of Heaven in the New Covenant established in his blood.

The Davidic Covenant is established between God and David's son through the prophecy of Nathan in 2 Samuel 7:

(v.5-17) - ""Go and tell my servant David, `Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"' 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, that you should be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. (David sees that God is confirming and elevating the original covenant made w/ Abraham in Gn. 12 with David, who is of Abraham's seed) And I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. (This is a prophecy that has a two-fold fulfillment: (1) The covenant is being made with Solomon, who becomes the son of God, builds a house (the Jerusalem Temple) for God, and rules over the kingdom and (2) it points forward to the coming of Jesus.) When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'" In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

David responds in v. 19 with, "And yet this was a small thing in thy eyes, O Lord GOD; thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come, and hast shown me future generations, O Lord GOD"

"future generations" in Hebrew is "torah 'adam", which translates much better to "law for all mankind"; "torah" means "law" and "adam" means "mankind".

This covenant is for all of mankind, not just for the nation of Israel. Hence, the Davidic Kingdom, beginning with Solomon is to bring all nations to God. The largest area of the Temple structure was the court of the Gentiles, in which the Gentiles were to worship God. Some of the prophets even prophesied to Gentile nations because these nations were now in a covenant relationship with God. The Davidic covenant opens God's family to an international, not just a national scope.

Solomon was:

1. The Son of David
2. The anointed one (christos/messiah)
3. The Temple builder
4. King of the Davidic Kingdom

However, Solomon's kingdom didn't last forever as God promised to David in 2 Sam 7. In 930, it was divided between north and soul (Israel/Judah), in 722, the Assyrians took Israel into captivity & exile, and in 586, Judah was exiled by the Babylonians as the Temple was destroyed and Jerusalem was laid to waste.

Due to more Messianic prophecies, the Jewish people (those who returned from exile from the tribe of Judah) were longing for their Davidic king. They had been suppressed under Roman rule since their return and had experience incredible oppression and torment (at one point thousands of Jews were crucified in public before Jesus arrived on the scene).

The one to come would be the Messiah (anointed one) because he would be a King (Kings and Priests were anointed with oil.. Jesus was the last of a long line of legitimate messiahs, though the Chair of David had been empty for about 600 years before Jesus came). This Messiah would have the status of "son of God" as Solomon was a son to God. Most of all the Davidic Kingdom would be restored.

Matthew (Levi the taxcollector), who wrote to a Jewish audience, geared his Gospel to this crowd, which was intimately familiar with Jewish language, law, ritual, and covenant. He doesn't call the kingdom "The Kingdom of God" (except for only 2 instances) but instead calls it "The Kingdom of Heaven" so that the Jews would know that the kingdom wasn't merely a political kingdom established on earth by the authority of God, but that it is actually not finally of this world, but has its place in Heaven (where final Beatitude with God exists).

Jesus is:

1. The Son of David
2. The anointed one (christos/messiah)
3. The Temple builder (the Church)
4. King of the (fulfilled) Davidic Kingdom

I will restrict my analysis here to merely one of the many instances Matthew relates the Kingdom of Heaven to the fulfillment and elevation of the Davidic Kingdom.

In the Davidic Kingdom, Solomon appointed a cabinet of royal ministers. He had ministers of defense, commerce, transportation, etc. We witness 12 of these royal ministers (1 Kings 4:7 - "Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel").

The head minister (Prime Minister) was given the key of the Kingdom as the sign of his office/authority to have the same authority as the King when the King was away or unable to tend to particular issues.

Isaiah prophesies to the corrupt Prime Minister Shebna that Eliakim will replace him in Isaiah 12:19-22 - "I will thrust you from your office, and you will be cast down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eli'akim the son of Hilki'ah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open."

Jesus appoints twelve royal ministers to tend to his kingdom with Peter as the prime minister. As Solomon built the Temple upon the rock of foundation (eben shetnyah), the new Solomon (Jesus) builds the new Temple (the Church) upon the new rock of foundation (Peter).

In Mt 16:15-19, we see Jesus appoint Peter to this position: He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Peter is an English transliteration of the Gk for rock, which is "Petros", and the Gk. is a translation from the contemporary language of Jesus, which was Aramaic. The Aramaic word for rock is "Kephas" and the Gk. transliteration from the Aramaic is "Cephas". We have this name of Peter recorded 9 times in the NT. For instance, in John 1:42, the instant Jesus meets Simon, he renames Simon:

"He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him, and said, 'So you are Simon the son of John? You shall be called Cephas' which means Peter."

Whenever God renames People in the Bible, he has large roles for them to fulfill. Abram to Abraham, Jacob to Israel, Saul to Paul, Simon to Peter.

The famous Protestant scholar W.F. Albright writes:

"This is not a name, but an appellation and a play on words. There is no evidence of Peter or Kephas as a name before Christian times. . . . Peter as Rock will be the foundation of the future community. Jesus, not quoting the Old Testament, here uses Aramaic, not Hebrew, and so uses the only Aramaic word which would serve his purpose. In view of the background of vs. 19, one must dismiss as confessional interpretation any attempt to see this rock as meaning the faith, or the Messianic confession, of Peter. To deny the pre-eminent position of Peter among the disciples or in the early Christian community is a denial of the evidence. The interest in Peter's failures and vacillations does not detract from this pre-eminence; rather, it emphasizes it. Had Peter been a lesser figure his behavior would have been of far less consequence (cp. Gal 2:11 ff.). (W. F. Albright and C. S. Mann, Matthew (Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co., 1971), 195.)

The Pope rightfully holds this office of Prime Minister as the successor to St. Peter here on Earth while our King mediates and intercedes for us in Heaven, building the Church day-by-day on earth upon Peter's office - which is the sign of sacerdotal unity. Just as the royal ministers held an office that had royal succession, the offices of the kingdom have apostolic succession. However, the King does not have successors because he reigns in heaven forever due to his resurrection.

In 375 A.D., the Biblical scholar Jerome (who translated the OT and NT Scriptures from several different sources and languages to the Latin Vulgate that we have today) wrote to Pope Damasus I in Rome:

""Since the East, shattered as it is by the long-standing feuds, subsisting between its peoples, is bit by bit tearing into shreds the seamless vest of the Lord, woven from the top throughout,' since the foxes are destroying the vineyard of Christ, and since among the broken cisterns that hold no water it is hard to discover the sealed fountain' and the garden inclosed,' I think it my duty to consult the chair of Peter, and to turn to a church whose faith has been praised by Paul. I appeal for spiritual food to the church whence I have received the garb of Christ. The wide space of sea and land that lies between us cannot deter me from searching for the pearl of great price.' Wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together.' Evil children have squandered their patrimony; you alone keep your heritage intact. The fruitful soil of Rome, when it receives the pure seed of the Lord, bears fruit an hundredfold; but here the seed corn is choked in the furrows and nothing grows but darnel or oats. In the West the Sun of righteousness is even now rising; in the East, Lucifer, who fell from heaven, has once more set his throne above the stars. Ye are the light of the world,' ye are the salt of the earth,' ye are "vessels of gold and of silver." Here are vessels of wood or of earth, which wait for the rod of iron,and eternal fire. Yet, though your greatness terrifies me, your kindness attracts me. From the priest I demand the safe-keeping of the victim, from the shepherd the protection due to the sheep. Away with all that is overweening; let the state of Roman majesty withdraw. My words are spoken to the successor of the fisherman, to the disciple of the cross. As I follow no leader save Christ, so I communicate with none but your blessedness, that is with the chair of Peter. For this, I know, is the rock on which the church is built! This is the house where alone the paschal lamb can be rightly eaten. This is the ark of Noah, and he who is not found in it shall perish when the flood prevails. But since by reason of my sins I have betaken myself to this desert which lies between Syria and the uncivilized waste, I cannot, owing to the great distance between us, always ask of your sanctity the holy thing of the Lord. Consequently I here follow the Egyptian confessors who share your faith, and anchor my frail craft under the shadow of their great argosies. I know nothing of Vitalis; I reject Meletius; I have nothing to do with Paulinus. He that gathers not with you scatters; he that is not of Christ is of Antichrist." (Epistle 15:1-2)

I hope that I have shown you the Biblical basis for the centerpiece of Catholic thought. This is just one piece of the pie.. there are numerous more fulfillments of the Davidic Kingdom that Jesus comes to bring to fulfillment.

God bless,

Carson

 

I know it's a long post, but I promise it's worth its weight in gold.

[ March 05, 2002, 06:04 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]

 

any comments?

 

I know there are eager souls out there!

 

any questions?

 

Hi Pastor Larry,

Thank you for your comments.

Before I begin, I would like to point out 9 quick characteristics of the Davidic Kingdom:

1. The son of David is the son of God.
2. The Davidic King is the anointed one (Messiah/Christ)
3. The kingdom is worldwide in scope (e.g. the Court of the Gentiles is the largest part of the Temple).
4. It is established at Zion, not Sinai
5. It involves the building of the Temple on the 'eben shetiyah (stone of foundation) w/ the Court of the Gentiles as opposed to the Tabernacle Tent which was exclusively for the 12 tribes of Israel.
6. The Wisdom literature of the OT is the Torah (Law) of the Davidic Covenant (and is applicable to all of mankind) vs. the Mosaic Law, which was only for Israel.
7. Prime Minister who was given the keys of the House of David (Is 22:9-23)
8. Queen Mother (Gebirah = great lady - 1 Kg 2:19) ruled alongside the King for over 400 years as the lady counselor of wisdom
9. The Todah offering (thank "Eucharistia" offering - Ps 50) is the central offering of the Temple as opposed to the Hattat (sin offering) of the Mosaic Covenant.

These 9 characteristics are elevated as part of the New Covenant Kingdom of God:

1. Jesus is the son of David by lineage, the Son of God by nature.
2. Jesus is the Messiah/Christ (due to his Davidic pedagree and levitical anointing by John the Baptist)
3. The kingdom is worldwide/universal (Catholic)
4. The only time Jesus uses the word "covenant" is in the institution of the Eucharist in the Upper Room upon Mt. Zion when he says, "for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins."
5. Jesus, the new Solomon (Mt 12:42), builds his Church, the new Temple, upon Peter, the new 'eben shetiyah.
6. The Wisdom Literature speaks to us today as Christians.
7. The New Prime Minister is Peter, whom is given the keys of the Kingdom (Mt 16:16-18).
8. The New Gebirah (Queen Mother) is Mary (e.g. "Hail! Mary" in Luke 1:28).
9. The New Todah is the Eucharist.

You wrote, "On 2 Sam 7:19 .. It is a question: "Is this your usual or customary way of dealing with man?" You apparently are reading the RSV but it missed the point here."

Yes, I'm reading the RSV, and I went past the RSV to quote the Hebrew, which is: "torah 'adam Adonai Jehovah", lit. "law for mankind (all of man) LORD God".

"torah" = law & "'adam" = mankind.

You wrote, "the covenant was for all mankind when such is foreign to the text. The covenant was made with David and expressly affected the nation of Israel as opposed to the rest of the gentile nations (vv. 10-11)"

The covenant transforms Israel into a Dynasty/Kingdom, which is essentially a nation (Israel) that rules over other Gentile nations (e.g. England ruled over Australia, India, America, etc.).

You wrote, "You make God a liar when you say, “Solomon's kingdom didn't last forever as God promised to David in 2 Sam 7.”"

Well, thanks for the benefit of the doubt. Your benevolence couldn't be greater..

You wrote, "Clearly, this is not what God said. He said the throne of the kingdom, thereby indicating that it was a ruling family that he was establishing. No other family (besides David’s) would ever sit on the throne of Israel. The closest threat was in Isaiah 7 and it was thwarted. To this day, no one besides a descendant of David has ever sat on David’s throne. The “chair of David” as you say is still empty since the kingdom to which is belongs is not currently a theocracy."

My point is that Jesus came to fill the chair of David as the "son of David", of which is referred to numerously throughout the New Testament. (Mt 1:1; Mt 9:27; Mt 12:23; Mt 15:22; Mt 20:30-31...)

If you look at the first chapter of Matthew's Gospel, you'll see that Jesus has true Davidic lineage - 1:1 - "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."

This is crucial to understanding that Jesus is the "Messiah" and the "Son of David", which is none other than who Solomon was as well as the successive Davidic kings.

v. 13 & 14 refer to both Solomon and Jesus (Solomon partially fulfilling the covenant promise and Jesus completely fulfilling it)

"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. And if he does wrong, I will correct him with the rod of men with human chastisements, but I will not withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul, whom I revoved from my presence. Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me; your throne shall stand firm forever."

Has the Davidic kingdom endured forever? Yes, it has.. because Jesus came as the Son of David, true son of God, the anointed, to fulfill the Davidic covenant promises and elevate the covenant (as the Davidic Covenant elevates Israel from a nation to a national kingdom, the New Covenant elevates the national kingdom to an eternal kingdom). Since death has no power over Jesus, his kingdom is ensured to endure forever.

You wrote, "The Davidic covenant has nothing to do with Peter."

I show how Matthew, writing to a Palestinian/Jewish audience, portrays the Kingdom of Heaven as a fulfillment of the Davidic Kingdom with Ch. 16 showing Jesus est. the office of Prime Minister:

Ch. 1 - Jesus has Davidic lineage
Ch. 2 - Jesus is born in Bethlehem, David's birthplace
Ch. 3 - Jesus receives a Levitical anointing in his Baptism, wherein John the Baptist, a Levite, baptizes Jesus and the Holy Spirit anoints him and God declares him as the Son of God (which Solomon was through the Davidic Covenant)
Ch. 4 - Jesus proclaims the kingdom
Ch. 5 - Jesus gives the royal law in the Sermon on the Mount
Ch. 10 - Jesus establishes twelve Patriarchs or Cabinet Members (The 12 Apostolos) to rule over his kingdom.
Ch. 16 - Peter is established as the Prime Minister

My theme is not my own, but that of the New Testament; I'm merely pointing out what Matthew wrote.

You wrote, "Here, you have stepped off the edge into something completely unsupported by Scripture. However, this line of thought shows the necessity you feel for papal authority. Were it not for papal authority such things would never be said because they certainly cannot be derived from Scripture."

I believe that my presentation is comprised of none other than Scripture and the absolutely clear parallels between Jesus' actions/words and its OT Davidic background. The reader may decide for himself/herself, given the evidence.

You wrote, "Thus, we can see that the Davidic covenant has not been fulfilled. Christ is not presently reigning on the Davidic throne."

re: those verses that refer to Christ as "Son of David".

You wrote, "Rev 3:21 clearly shows that Christ is currently sitting on the Father’s throne and one day he will sit on his own. His own throne will be the Davidic throne when the kingdom of God is restored to earth."

With Jesus, the national Davidic Kingdom is elevated to the eternal kingdom of Heaven. No longer is the kingdom "of this world", but now it is eternal, heavenly.. the culmination of God's paternal care of his People on Earth - bringing them to their final end in heaven. The Davidic Kingdom was a prefigurement designed by God to foreshadow his rule over all creation.

For a more in-depth look: http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/SLVHST4.TXT

Thanks again for your comments.

God bless,

Carson

[ March 09, 2002, 04:25 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]

 

For more on the Todah/Eucharist (Hb/Gk) offering:

http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/resolve.asp?rafile=lamb03.ra

This is one part in a series authored by Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina :

http://www.kensmen.com/catholic/revelation.html

 

any other comments or questions?

 

Hi everyone,

In case anyone on the board hasn't had a chance to read through the initial post in this thread, I want to bring it to the top of the list in order to give them a chance to do so.

God bless,

Carson

 

Hi Pastor Larry,

I absolutely agree with you.

In this case, what I've presented above is a summary of a portion of what I have been learning this past Fall and this Spring from a Biblical scholar whose dissertation on Covenant and Kinship in Scripture has a Bibliography of 75 pages. He's also an internationally renown convert to Catholicism from a Calvinistic slant of Protestantism: the OPC. At age 26, he was offered the position of dean of seminary, and at one point in time was mentored by R.C. Sproul and himself taught R.C. Sproul's son Scripture.

Maybe this bit of background information will give you an idea as to where I'm coming from.

God bless,

Carson

 

Hi Pastor Larry,

You wrote, "The person you reference above says what he does because of how he was trained."

Dr. Hahn was "trained" at a Protestant Calvinist seminary. And, being a Scripture scholar, he consults works apart from any "classes" he took years before in seminary. His doctoral dissertation is entitled "Kinship by Covenant" and is a work on the Bible alone.

You wrote, "However, be that as it may, my point is that the material you presented above does not do justice to the biblical text and threatens to compromise the faithfulness of God by taking clear, explicit promises and leaving them unfulfilled."

You assert that I implied God's promises were left unfulfilled, which runs contrary to what I posted. Now you're blindly attacking a straw man with a rod formulated out of ungrounded opinion. How can dialogue possibly remain fruitful with me if you can't "connect" with me by sticking to the facts? Why even post?

The Promise God made to David:

"He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. When he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men; but I will not take my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure for ever before me; your throne shall be established for ever.'"

I said that this prophecy is immediately directed towards Solomon, but fulfilled in Christ. Never did I say that God made unfulfilled promises.

Are you trying to say that Christ has absolutely nothing to do with the Davidic Covenant and that these words have nothing to do with Christ (all the while, we're employing the name "Christ", which means "anointed".. and is a Messianic title that refers explicitly to the King of David, who was the anointed over all of Israel)?

I'm beginning to believe that you never even read the post in its entirety, taking together the points, to begin with.. in your haste to disagree with anything sounding "Catholic".

God bless,

Carson

[ March 28, 2002, 01:39 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]

 

Hi Pastor Larry,

Thank you for addressing my post.

You wrote, "I do agree that the Covenant is fulfilled in Christ. But it has not yet happened. Christ is not ruling on the throne of David."

I believe that Christ, the son of David, is ruling over the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the restoration of the Davidic Kingdom.

You wrote, "When God says that he will preserve David's throne, he meant that. He did not mean anything other than that. Yet you would have us believe he meant something else ... some kind of papal throne or some such entity."

What is David's throne? It is a sign of the Davidic Covenant that stands for the son of David, who rules the Kingdom. There have been many of these (e.g. Solomon, Hezekiah, Josiah, etc.), and Jesus is the son of David.

You wrote, "Thus Christ is not yet sitting on the throne of David, something still to come, since God promised it."

So you're still looking for Christ to return as a political Messiah like the Jews still long for? I believe that Christ currently rules over his Kingdom, which is "of God" and "of Heaven"; it's both on Earth and in Heaven, hence, "Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven."

You wrote, "As an example of totally irrelevant passages being placed together, you cite 12 ministers of Solomon and 12 apostles of Christ. Yet if you look at the previous verses there are other offices in teh kingdom that preclude such cavalier identification. Just because the number 12 is used, we should not assume they refer to the same thing."

I apologize for my lack of clarity. I meant to show how Solomon had many different ministers to help him in caring for the Kingdom (and Jesus shares his authority w/ his Apostles - Mt 18:18 - as Solomon did w/ his royal ministers).

Solomon explicitly had 12 royal ministers to provide food for the king and his household; this prefigures the 12 apostles who provide the Eucharist for the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (as the 12 Tribes of Israel foreshadow the 12 Apostles of Jesus, the New Israel).

You wrote, "Then you reference Shebnah (who was a scribe under Hezekiah, not a "prime minister" under Solomon) and comment on how he was replaced by Eliakim. Yet if you read to the end of the passage you find that Eliakim was also cut off."

Hezekiah is a successor of Solomon; he was a christed son of David.. a Davidic king. As the office of kingship was genealogical by pedigree, the office of the prime royal minister was appointed by selection.

God tells Isaiah, "Come, go to this steward, to Shebnah, who is over the household, and say to him.." Shebnah, under the Davidic king Hezekiah, was "over the household".

This Davidic imagery provides a sensible background to understanding Jesus words to Peter in Mt 16; granted, it grants viability to the Papal office if it's true, and I wouldn't expect for you to affirm that.

You wrote, "Christ is the Davidic ruler yet he clearly is not ruling on the Davidic throne. Here you compromise the promises of God by changing the promise to be something now that it wasn't then."

But I do see Christ clearly ruling on the Davidic throne.. in heaven. I don't have the worldly vision of the Jews; my vision has been lifted to the spiritual vision of eternity.

You wrote, "You say that the the national Davidic Kingdom is elevated to the eternal kingdom of Heaven. No longer is the kingdom "of this world", but now it is eternal, heavenly. Yet you offer no scriptural proof of this. In fact, you must again compromise the promises of God if this is to stand."

Mt 3:2 - "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

Mt 16:19 - "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

God bless,

Carson

[ March 28, 2002, 11:15 PM: Message edited by: Carson Weber ]