Mark's Gospel as sequel: Understanding the Backstory, part IV: David (2)
To fully
understand Mark’s “sequel” to the Scriptures of Israel, we need to look at 7
previous “episodes”, 7 OT characters who shed light on what Mark is saying
about John the Baptist and Jesus in chapter 1.
The third character from the “original story” is David. In 2 Samuel 7.8-16, we have the story of the founding
of the Davidic covenant – God’s promise that there would always be a descendant
of David on the throne of Jerusalem, forever. It repeats the key features of God’s covenant
with Abraham, which “gave birth to” the people of God (cf. Gn. 12.1-3). God promises David three things: a great
name, that Israel will be “planted” securely (cf. Jer. 1.10) in the Promised
Land, and an everlasting line of descendants upon his throne (2 Sam.
7.8-13). The wider context – and play on
words – is that David had recently expressed his desire to the prophet Nathan
to construct a “house” (i.e., Temple) for Yahweh (2 Sm. 7.1-3). God replies that, in fact, he will construct
a “house” (i.e., dynasty) for David, and that David’s son (Solomon) will
be the one to construct God’s house/Temple (7.11-13; cf. 1 Kings 1-8).[1] Indeed, God’s renown is tied up with the
renown of David and his dynasty (7.26).
To the extent that the dynasty thrives, Yahweh will be seen to be great,
the One who empowers/protects his king(s).[2] Indeed, the one who ruled from Jerusalem was
Yahweh’s viceroy on earth, and Yahweh ruled his people through his “anointed”,
and would one day, promised the Psalms, rule all the nations through the king
of Israel (cf. Ps. 2).
Indeed, in
Psalm 2, the king of Israel is called “my son” by Yahweh (Ps. 2.7, quoted in
Mk. 1.11); in 2 Sam. 7.14, God tells David that he will be a father to David’s
son Solomon. So, when Mark calls Jesus
the “Son of God”, he’s calling him the King of Israel (cf. Jn. 1.49). In the Hebrew Scriptures, the nation of
Israel is first called the “son of Yahweh” (Ex. 4.22; Hosea 11.1). This divine adoption was then narrowed down
to one individual – the Davidic king. As
“people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem” were
being baptized by John in the Jordan (Mk. 1.5), Jesus is “anointed” (read
baptized) as the Son of God, the King of Israel, the Lord of the nations. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews
applies Ps. 45.6-7 to Jesus as Son of God (Hb. 1.8-9). Since the promise to David was that he would
have an eternal dynasty, the Messiah was known as the “son of David”, a title
that is applied to Jesus (cf. Mk. 10.47-48; 11.10; 12.35-37; cf. Ps. 110.1).
Jesus’ message
concerns the “kingdom of God” (Mk. 1.15).
In the Psalms, Yahweh is described as King of the world (Pss. 47, 93-99,
etc.). Yahweh, the King of the world,
ruled the nations through his “son” enthroned in Zion (Ps. 2.6). The dream of the Hebrew Scriptures is for
Yahweh to establish his reign (kingdom) over the whole world, through his son/viceroy,
the King of Israel – one world, one God.
[1] David was the exemplary king, the standard against which all
subsequent monarchs of Judah were judged.
The last time that David is mentioned in the 4-volume Books of Kingdoms
is 2 Kings 22.2: “(Josiah) did what was right in the sight of the Lord,
and walked in all the way of his father David; he did not turn aside to
the right or to the left.” (cf. Joshua 1.7).
After this point, it’s a downward slide into disaster…
[2] Waltke,
Bruce K. An Old Testament Theology,
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007, p. 661.
God’s covenant-partners are always in peril. In the case of Abraham, his wife and the
wives of his son/grandson were all sterile until God miraculously intervened to
enable them to conceive and give birth, thus beginning to fulfill his promise
of many descendants (cf. Gn. 12-30).
God’s promise to David was put to the test (for a first time) in the
mid-9th-century B.C., when the royal family was massacred, leaving
only baby Joash alive, who was crowned king of Judah at the age of six (2 Kings
11.4-12): cf. Ibid., pp. 731-32.
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