CRYSTALLIZATION-STUDY OF 1&2 SAMUEL
Message Seven
David Typifying Christ, the Real David— the King of the Coming Kingdom of God
Scripture Reading: 1 Sam. 21:1-6; 2 Sam. 7:16; 23:1-7; Amos 9:11-12; Matt. 1:6; 12:1-4
I. David typifies Christ, the real David—1 Sam. 21:1-6; 2 Sam. 23:1-7; Matt. 12:1-4:
A. David is the most thorough type of Christ revealed in the Old Testament, covering the longest period of time; the New Testament also clearly reveals that David typifies Christ—Matt. 12:3.
B. In keeping with the principle seen in Matthew 12, that Christ is greater than all the types, greater than all things and persons in the Old Testament that typify Him, Christ is the greater David:
1. The Lord's word in Matthew 12:3-4 implies that He is the real David:
a. David had followers, and Christ, the real David, also had disciples as His followers.
b. All of this implies that David and his followers were a type, a prefigure, of Christ and His disciples.
2. The Lord's word in Matthew 12:3-4 also implies a dispensational change from the priesthood to the kingship:
a. The coming of David changed the dispensation from the age of the priests to the age of the kings, in which the kings were above the priests.
b. By the coming of Christ, the dispensation was also changed, this time from the age of the law to the age of grace, in which Christ is above all.
c. In Matthew 1:6 David is called "the king" because it was through him that the kingdom with the kingship was brought in; he was the landmark of two ages, the conclusion of one age and the beginning of another age.
C. David's typifying the suffering Christ is revealed in Psalms 22, 109, and 110:
1. In Psalm 22 we see the suffering David typifying the suffering Christ passing through His death—vv. 1a, 6-21.
2. Psalm 109 is a prayer offered by David about his sufferings:
a. Here David is a type of Christ, and David's sufferings typify Christ's sufferings.
b. David's prayer concerning his sufferings typifies Christ's prayer.
3. The prayer in Psalm 109 is answered in Psalm 110:
a. Since Psalm 110 is the answer to the prayer of David as a type of Christ in Psalm 109, Psalm 110 should be considered as an answer to Christ's prayer—Heb. 5:7.
b. God answered this prayer not only through the resurrection of Christ but also through Christ's ascension—Acts 2:23-24, 32-33; 5:31.
D. David also typifies Christ in his last words—2 Sam. 23:1-7:
1. David, a type of Christ, ruled among men righteously with the fear of God—v. 3b.
2. David, a type of Christ, was like the light of the morning when the sun rises without clouds—v. 4a.
3. When Christ rules among men righteously with the fear of God, He is like the light of the morning when the sun rises, "as when the tender grass sprouts up from the earth ? At the sun's shining after a rain"—v. 4b.
II. David the king typifies Christ the King—1 Sam. 16:12; 2 Sam. 16:5-6; Matt. 1:6; 2:2; 27:11; Rev. 19:16:
A. King David typifies Christ—the King of the coming kingdom of God—as the king established by God, the warring king, and the king despised and rejected by men—1 Sam. 16:12; 2 Sam. 16:5-6:
1. As typified by David, Christ is the fighting King, who has won the victory over all His enemies, who has gained the land, and who has prepared all the materials for building up the church as the temple of God—1 Chron. 21:22-25; 29:29.
2. After Christ takes possession of the earth, He will reign over the earth as the King in the kingdom, ruling over the nations with His overcoming believers—Rev. 20:4, 6; 2:26-27.
3. As the coming King, Christ will be the Head and the center of the coming kingdom of God in the millennium; this will be the fulfillment of Isaiah 32:1, Jeremiah 23:5, and Zechariah 14:9 and 17.
B. The prophets spoke of David and Christ as one—Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11:
1. "They will serve Jehovah their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them"—Jer. 30:9.
2. This refers to Christ, who is the real David and who will be the King in the restoration, that is, the millennium—Isa. 32:1; Rev. 20:4, 6.
3. "I will set up over them one Shepherd, My Servant David, and He will feed them; He will feed them, and He will be their Shepherd… And My Servant David will be a Prince among them"—Ezek. 34:23-24:
a. David typifies Christ, the real Shepherd of God's flock, feeding us and causing us to be filled and satisfied—John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; Isa. 9:7; Hosea 3:5; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:32-33.
b. When the Lord Jesus comes as the Shepherd to care for us, He comes also as the King to govern us; the issue of the Lord's caring for us as our Shepherd is that we obey Him as our King and come under His kingship and His throne within us.
4. "My Servant David will be King over them, and they all will have one Shepherd"—Ezek. 37:24:
a. This refers to Christ our Shepherd, who is the real David.
b. In relation to Israel the prophecy given here will be fulfilled in the millennium, the age of restoration, and in eternity, in the new heaven and new earth.
5. "Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Jehovah their God and David their King, and they will come with fear to Jehovah and to His goodness in the last days"—Hosea 3:5:
a. David their King is Christ in the millennium.
b. The last days refers to the age of restoration—Matt. 19:28.
C. In the Lord's upcoming reign God's authority and glory will be fully manifested, and the whole earth with its peoples will be brought into righteousness, peace, joy, and the full blessing of God's creation—6:13; Isa. 32:1, 16-18; 35:1-2, 5-7.
III. The kingdom of David typifies the coming kingdom of Christ—2 Sam. 7:12, 16; Mark 11:10; Rev. 11:15:
A. Through the prophet Nathan, Jehovah spoke to David, saying, "Your house and your kingdom will be made sure forever before you; your throne will be established forever"—2 Sam. 7:16:
1. David's house refers to Christ, David's kingdom refers to Christ's kingdom, and David's throne refers to Christ's throne—v. 16.
2. The kingdom of David is Christ's kingdom, and David and Christ have one throne—Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Luke 1:32; Acts 2:29-31.
3. The word of God conveyed by the archangel Gabriel also confirmed that the covenant of David will be fulfilled in Christ—Luke 1:32-33.
4. God's promise to David that his house and kingdom would be made sure and that his throne would be established forever was fulfilled in Christ.
5. Christ will inherit the throne of David according to the promise of God to David to reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end—vv. 32-33:
a. The earthly part of the millennial kingdom in the coming age will be the Messianic kingdom, which is called the kingdom of the Son of Man in Matthew 13:41 (Rev. 11:15).
b. This will be the restored kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6), the tabernacle of David—the kingdom of David—which the Lord will rebuild (15:16; Mark 11:10).
B. Amos prophesied that, as the King, Christ will raise up the "fallen tabernacle of David"—Amos 9:11:
1. The tabernacle of David is the kingdom of David and the royal family of David—2 Sam. 7:12, 16.
2. That kingdom, that royal family, fell when Nebuchadnezzar came to capture the nation of Israel, devastate the land, burn the city, destroy the temple, and carry off the king—2 Kings 25:1-21.
3. In Amos's prophecy God promised that in a certain day the kingdom of David and the family of David would be restored, and all the nations would be called by the name of Jehovah—Amos 9:11-12.
4. This prophecy indicates that Christ will come back to be the real David (Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5) and will rebuild, that is, restore, the kingdom of His forefather David for the restoration of the entire universe.
5. At that time the kingdom of David will become the kingdom of Christ and of God for eternity—Rev. 11:15.
6. The Lord will sit on the throne of David and reign over Jacob, that is, the Jewish people (Luke 1:32-33), and He will rule over the nations on earth during the millennium (Psa. 2:8; 72:8; Dan. 7:14; 2:35).