People Waiting for the Messiah - David

　　I
December 10, 2023
Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:11-16

Intro: Since last week, we have been talking about people who are waiting for the Messiah.
　Last week, we talked about the story from the creation to Abraham.
　In that story, we talked about how we are in a story written by God and that we have a script, but at the same time we have a choice. That is something we can do because it is God. So when we think about our life of faith, we should not think, "God will do as He planned and I don't have to do anything" or "I have to do my best so that God's plan will be followed. It will be God's plan without relying on our hard work, and our life is determined by our choices.
　In other words, the story is set, but we can choose and make decisions.
　Today, we have David. David was about 800 years after Abraham.
God created the Jewish people from Abraham. The Jewish people multiplied and spread in Egypt, then returned to the land of Canaan. And they multiplied in Canaan.
　God promised that Abraham's descendants would be as numerous as the stars, and it came true.
　Next, God wanted to teach the whole world about the coming of the Messiah through David.
　That Messianic prophecy is today's passage.
　First, let me explain the first half of chapter 7.
　David became the king of Israel and expanded the territory of Israel.
　David moved the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and built his house on a hill in Jerusalem.
　David was looking for an opportunity to express his gratitude to God, and he got it. He then proposed to the prophet Nathan to build a magnificent temple for God.
　Then God spoke to David that night through Nathan.
　The important word in today's passage is the word "house. This is the Hebrew word for "byte," which has three meanings: house, temple, and lineage. In today's passage, they are used interchangeably.
　David wanted to build a bight for God, that is, a temple. In contrast, God blesses David's lineage.
　By the way, God is more interested in what kind of heart we live with than what we do. What we can do depends on our abilities, but the heart is the same for everyone.
　Some people can do big things in the church and in society. But there are also those who do small things faithfully. People look at accomplishments, but God looks at the heart.
　
1 Samuel 16:7, "Men look at the appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
　
God dismissed Saul, who was only pretending and did not love God. He rejoiced over David, who loved God.
　He then explains that David is the man he is today because of God's response to David's love. In truth, David responded to God's love.
　The same is true for us. God loves us first.
1 John 3:1 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
　And God has promised to lift up the name of David.
2 Samuel 7:9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. 　
This can be seen in how much we still adore David of Israel.
　And here is today's verse.
11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. "'The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you:
　The house here does not refer to a residence, but to a lineage, meaning that David's lineage would become a royal family.

　I. Blessing for David's Descendants　
　This means that God will establish David's kingship. It is a promise that when David is old, the kingship will not pass to another through revolution or rebellion. He also promises that his kingdom will be inherited by David's children.
　Then verse 12 continues.
12 When 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.
　When you sleep with your fathers is when David dies. Some say that verses 12 through 16 are all Messianic prophecy. This is because Solomon succeeded David when he was alive.
　However, it could also be considered Solomon. Because it says here that he is the successor.
　Historically, after David, Solomon expanded the kingdom and laid the groundwork for the Davidic family to continue as a royal family.　
　In the book of Kings and in the history of the generations, David's descendants continued as kings of the Kingdom of Judah even after Israel was divided into north and south, until it was destroyed by Babylon.
　What is important is that God, through David and his descendants, made the kingdom a tangible reality. But God's true kingdom will be realized through Jesus, the Messiah, who will come to earth as David's descendant. This is where the Messianic prophecy comes in.

II. Messianic Prophecy
13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 　
We must be careful when pronouns appear in God's Word. It can suddenly change to a prophecy of the distant future. Some interpret verse 13 as Solomon, but it is different from verses 11 and 12.
　Now, what is this house of three? Is it the temple? That is a possibility. But here it says "for ever. Historically speaking, David's kingdom was destroyed in 586 BC. Therefore, we can say that this is a Messianic prophecy.
　Here is the Messiah coming and establishing the Kingdom of God. And it will be a kingdom that will last forever.
　What was the message of Jesus' ministry?
Mark 1:15 and saying,"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."
　It is near, meaning that the Messiah, the King of the Kingdom of God, has come.
And that kingdom is not the kingdom of the Jewish people. It is the kingdom of those who accept and worship Jesus as King.
　The greatest mistake of the Jewish people was to misunderstand that God loves only the Jewish people. God loves all the people of the world who accept the Messiah. That is because God loves Jesus.
　Who are the strangers that parents love? It would be the friends of their children and those who are good to them.
　God loves those who love His Son Jesus, who accept Him as King, and who are His friends.
　Let us remember the prophecy that God promised Abraham
Genesis 17:5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.
　The many nations here are not only the descendants of Abraham, but also the father of the peoples of the world who follow the faith of Abraham.
　Therefore, God is not the God only of the Jewish people, but of the whole world.
In fact, now more and more Gentiles, not Jews, are becoming Abraham's descendants. So are we.
　Continuing on, verse 14.
14 I 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.
　It sounds like a quiz today, but who is this verse 14 referring to?

III. descendants of David OR us?
　Verse 14 is not a Messianic prophecy. For it is sinless God Himself who has come as the Messiah, so there is no sin.
　Who, then, are we talking about?
　Here, I mean those who receive the Messiah.
The key word here is the Father-Son relationship.
　What kind of people are those whom God is the Father of?
　If we consider the Bible as a whole, it is those who believe in Jesus, the Son of God. This is not limited to the Jewish people, nor to the descendants of David.
　The gospel is not just the forgiveness of sins. It is about being in a parent-child relationship with God.
2 Corinthians 6:18 and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty."
　This is what He is saying to the Gentiles.
　The Messiah went to the cross not for the Jews, but to save the whole world. Rather, the Jews tripped over the Messiah. They thought He was their Messiah, but He included sinful Gentiles.
　This continues in the next verse, verse 15
15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
　This seems to be saying that Saul has been taken from his kingship. However, I don't think it is only referring to kingship when it says grace.
　David's life is special in the Old Testament era. David commits a major sin later on. It is written in chapter 11. But God forgave his sins.
　In Psalm 51, David asks,
Psalm 51:11Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
　David's greatest fear was that the Holy Spirit would be taken away. Since Saul was separated from the Holy Spirit, God was separated from him, and Saul was separated from God.
　But the Holy Spirit continued to work in David, even though he sinned greatly.
　In fact, this is the gospel. The gospel is the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit will never leave us.
　We believe in God through the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit were to leave us, we would be separated from God. But that doesn't happen. That is the wonderful thing about the gospel.
　Another important point in verse 15 is that God trains His children.
　If he sins, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the whip of the Son of Man.
This is explained in Hebrews 12.
Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

　If we sin and nothing happens, we will continue to sin. And sanctification will not happen.
　God's plan for us is to turn us away from sin so that we will come to display His glory.
　So make no mistake, it is not that we are unloved because of the trials that come, but that the trials are evidence that we are loved.
　The parent-child relationship is not a relationship of spoiling the child, but a relationship of loving the child. A parent's love is to train their children to be independent and to live well in a difficult world.
　The same is true of God's love. God wants us to make good choices and live good lives. To do this, we sometimes allow the devil to attack us. And we take temporary defenses. But it is not because we do not love, but because we do.
　Finally, verse 16.
16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.'"
　These words are Messianic. You already know this, because it says "for ever. The Messiah's kingdom is now coming. But the Messiah will not be king until the Second Coming. Until then, the Messianic Kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, visible only to the faithful.
　Even if the Messiah's Kingdom is invisible to people, we can see it, and we must offer praise and worship.
　The Lord is worthy to be praised and the King to be worshipped.
　Therefore, it is important for us to gather together in church to praise and worship together. Worship is not for us. We worship for the Lord. We must not forget that Sunday is the Lord's day.

　Let us pray.
Father, we thank you for accepting us as your children so that we can call you Father. David loved God with all his heart. Therefore, You blessed not only David but also David's descendants. But it was Your plan to give birth to Jesus the Messiah as David's descendant. We thank You that through the cross of this Messiah, You have made us sons and people of the kingdom in which He will rule. In earthly kingdoms, people suffer because of the selfishness of kings, the struggle for kingship, and because kings exploit their people and live in luxury for themselves. However, we give you thanks and praise from the bottom of our hearts because you are a king who loves his people to the point of sacrificing his own life for them.
　Please help as many people as possible to hear the message of God's love during this Christmas season. Please use the Christmas evangelism of the Church around the world.