The Son of David

1. How do the Scriptures describe David?

“But now your dynasty will not endure. The LORD will seek out a man after His own heart, and the LORD will appoint him ruler over His people, because you did not abide by what the LORD had commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:14)

“…And the LORD said, ‘Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.’ Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the LORD gripped David from that day on. Samuel then set out for Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16:12, 13)

“In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijam became king over Judah…He continued in all the sins that his father before him had committed; he was not wholehearted with the LORD his God, like his father David.” (1 Kings 15:1,3)

“Hezekiah became king at the age of twenty-five, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem; his mother’s name was Abijah daughter of Zechariah.He did what was pleasing to the LORD, just as his father David had done.” (2 Chronicles 29:1,2)

Answer: The Scriptures describeDavid as a man after G-d’s own heart. He was a strong man of faith that loved to do His will. The faithfulness of the latter kings was measured by whether or not they followed David’s example.
Further Reading: Deuteronomy 6:5; Psalms 40:8

2. Another descriptor for the Messiah is “the Son of David.” What does the Tanakh tell us about what the Son of David will be like?
   
   Answer: In addition to being a man after G-d’s own heart, as aforementioned, there are two additional points that the Tanakh applies to the Son of David:
   
   
   1. He would be the rightful ruler of the Jews and the Gentiles.
      
      “This is My servant, whom I uphold, My chosen one, in whom I delight. I have put My spirit upon him, He shall teach the true way to the nations.” (Isaiah42:1)
      
      “For He has said: ‘It is too little that you should be My servant In that I raise up the tribes of Jacob And restore the survivors of Israel: I will also make you a light of nations, That My salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’” (Isaiah 49:6)
      
      
   2. He would be both divine and human.
      
      “…The LORD said to my lord, ‘Sit at My right hand while I make your enemies your footstool.’” (Psalm 110:1)
      
      “And you, O Bethlehem of Ephrath, Least among the clans of Judah, From you one shall come forth To rule Israel for Me— One whose origin is from of old, From ancient times.” (Micah 5:1)
      
      “As I looked on, in the night vision, One like a human being Came with the clouds of heaven; He reached the Ancient of Days And was presented to Him. Dominion, glory, and kingship were given to him; All peoples and nations of every language must serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, And his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13,14)
      
      
      
3. What about Deuteronomy 6:5? There can only be ONE GOD!
   
   “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.” (Deuteronomy 6:5)
   
   “Bear in mind what happened of old; For I am God, and there is none else, I am divine, and there is none like Me. I foretell the end from the beginning, And from the start, things that had not occurred. I say: My plan shall be fulfilled; I will do all I have purposed.” (Isaiah 46:9,10)
   
   Answer: This is true. There is only ONE G-d. From the beginning, He has told His people how He planned to restore the world to Himself (Genesis 3:15).
   
   
   
4. So why do you believe that Jesus is both divine and human, then?
   
   “And God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.’” (Genesis 1:26)
   
   “And the LORD God said, ‘Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and bad, what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!’” (Genesis 3:22)
   
   “…and the LORD said, ‘If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.’” (Genesis 11:6,7)
   
   Answer: The name for G-d in Hebrew, Elohim, is the plural form of the word “God.” At the Creation and Fall of Man, as well as at the Tower of Babel, the Lord spoke with multiple parties that were involved with His work of Creation. Only G-d has the power to create.
   
   He was not talking to the animals that were just created or the angels. Neither of these parties were given the power to create life. This information, along with the understanding that the Messiah would be an eternal ruler that would be born in Bethlehem, has led us to believe that the Son of David is divine and human.
   Further Reading: 2 Kings 2:11,12; Psalm 91:11
   
   Moreover, Jesus forgave sins and accepted the worship of men. If anyone else did this, it would be blasphemy. But the Tanakh tells us that He would be both divine and human and that He Himself would do no wrong.
   Further Reading: Mark 2:3-12; John 9:30-33, 35-38; Isaiah 53:8,9,11
   
   
   
5. But how does that make sense with the understanding that there is only ONE God?
   
   “Then all the people rose, as one man, and declared, “We will not go back to our homes, we will not enter our houses! But this is what we will do to Gibeah: [we will wage war] against it according to lot…So all the men of Israel, united as one man, massed against the town.” (Judges 20:8,9,11)
   
   “Then Israel made a vow to the LORD and said, “If You deliver this people into our hand, we will proscribe their towns.”” (Numbers 21:2)
   
   Answer: The matter at issue is our understanding of oneness. While it can be literal, it can also focus on unity of purpose and even of party. For example, the texts above show how the tribes of Israel united “as one man” to war against Gibeah and the Canaanites. They were reckoned as either “one man” in the first text and as one nation in the second.
   
   Applying that to the L-rd, we understand that the Son of G-d is one with His Father in as One of the members of what the B’rit Chadashah (the New Covenant) describes as the “Godhead.” He is one with G-d in His purpose to be a light of salvation to the earth.
   Further Reading: Isaiah 49:6, 52:10; Acts 17:26; Colossians 2:8,9
   
   
   
6. So do you worship three Gods, the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit?
   
   “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:10)“Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.” (John 4:21)
   
   “And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6,7)
   
   Answer: We worship the Father, as the Tanakh and the Son of David in the B’rit Chadashah teach us to do.
   Further Reading: Exodus 20:1-6, 34:14; Revelation 19:10, 22:9