"Leaving Jesus Out"
But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.'" (2 Samuel 7:15, 16 NLT)
The Bible is about Jesus. Second Samuel is about Jesus. This is something good for me to remember as I read through the Bible. The Bible is full of great stories but that is not the point of the Bible. The Bible is full of great laws but that is not the primary point of the Bible. The Bible is full of great principles for living. It's full of great axioms, wisdom, & sayings. All of these things make the Bible great, interesting, practical, helpful, wonderful, awe-inspiring, & God-breathed. But, these wonderful things are not the main point of the Bible.
As we have seen so far in our reading, the Bible is full of references & pictures & prophesies of a Coming One. We see it in the garden of Eden & here in the books of Samuel.
God promises David that his kingdom will not die with him. His kingdom will last forever. He promises that he will be with his descendants & Solomon, his son, will build a temple for him. But then he promises much more. God will not depart from him & his descendants like he did Saul. His kingdom will last forever. This is puzzling because David's sons are not ruling today. They ruled for a time in Israel but not forever. Or did they? Or rather, do they?
We see a shift in God's promise in verse 16 when God says, "Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever." God's promise is coming in a Ruler whose kingdom will not end. A Ruler who will never leave the throne. A Ruler who will never die. A Ruler who will never need to be succeeded. A descendant of David who will be the true King of kings. He will be the King to rule all other kings & kingdoms. He will rule forever. This is why Jesus was often called "Son of David" because he was in the lineage of David & because he fulfilled this passage of Scripture!
It's easy to get into the reading in books like 2 Samuel & see all the great stories but miss the real Story. It's easy to see the great truths here but miss the Truth. It's easy to see the practical principles for living & miss the One who is Life & gives life. It's easy to read the Bible & miss Jesus.
Sounds crazy doesn't it? I'm not saying we need to say every piece of wood is a cross & every rock is the rolled away stone here in the Old Testament (Tony Merida quote). But we must keep laser focus on the fact that ALL of the Bible, every book of it, is primarily about Him. He is the King & this book is His story, about His rule & redemption in His world.
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