When the generation of Moses failed to obey God, they were left to die in the wilderness. God instructed Moses to establish Joshua and Caleb to succeed him to lead a new generation to possess the Promised Land, which they did. So the age of judges began.
This age lasted over 400 years – from the time of Joshua to the time of Samuel.
The people began to desire that a king should rule them like the peoples around them. In the end, God, through Samuel, gave them a king of their choice. Saul, a Benjaminite, was selected and anointed king for them. Then Saul, out of his rebellion and selfish desires, disqualified himself. God then had Samuel anoint David, who was just a shepherd boy, ignored and despised by his own household. Again the story is familiar to us, so we won’t get into the details here, rather just give a sketch.
David was raised up by God as more than just a good shepherd, but also a great warrior, and wonderful worshipper (with his harp). This ensured his success in Saul’s court and army, and finally provoked him to jealousy. In the end, David had to flee from his persecution, hiding in caves and wandering in the land of the Philistines. Yet during all this time, he grew stronger in his strength as a warrior, and grew into a leader with a royal and noble character and a man with great wisdom and a heart after God.
Years passed, and Saul and his son Jonathan together died in battle with the Philistines. This paved the way for David to be established as the king of Israel. For the first seven and half years, He was king over Judah, and later, over all of Israel. Then He began to subdue the enemies of the Israelites around them and gained back the city of Jerusalem. Subsequently, he fortified Zion, and it began to be called the city of David. Now God began to subdue all the kingdoms around David, even using a foreign king to build him a palace.
David then recovered the ark from the Philistines and brought it back back to Jerusalem and made a tent to house it. Making his way to the tent dressed in a linen ephod, he rejoiced and danced. In this prophetic scene, David fulfilled two offices in one person: the Kingly and the Priestly.
He felt unsettled living in a palace he did not build, while the ark of the Lord dwelled beneath a shabby tent. Through the Prophet Nathan, the LORD told him that he would not be the one who would build a house for the ark.
2 Sam 7:12-16 [NIV]
12When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'”
We know Solomon here is talking about Christ Jesus:
Ps 89:19-29 [NIV]
19Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have exalted a young man from among the people.
20I have found David my servant;
with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.
22No enemy will subject him to tribute;
no wicked man will oppress him.
23I will crush his foes before him
and strike down his adversaries.
24My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn will be exalted.
25I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
26He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.’
27I will also appoint him my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.
29I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.
This is post is _Part 8_ in the series The Order of Melchizedek. To continue with this series, click on Pt 9. To use this as a growth tool to better understand your own calling, you might start by reading the explanation of this series, Pt 1, Pt 2, Pt 3, Pt 4, Pt 5, Pt 6 and Pt 7.
Photo credit: pig_pen