Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley

I’m Jemima L. Yeggs, a.k.a. Stinker.  Pink Lady Apple Yeggs, my landlady and my auntie, wants to read about how younger people, especially couples respond to what the Bible says.  And she wants to know how God is at work at Lily the Pink.

B.B. and I were in our “green room.”

B.B. said, “Stinker, Joseph is satisfied with Phinehas for a boy’s name, but I am thinking about David.  How does that sound?”

I sighed, “Which David Jones?  David Jones is a well-established high end department store, from what I hear in Australia.  I have never been there.  Then there is David Bowie.  Before he was David Bowie, he was Davie Jones.  But then there was Davy Jones of the Monkees.  Like my Mom says, ‘He was the cute one.’  But I know!  He is the sailor consigned to shipwrecks to the bottom of the sea.  I can see it now.”  My voice started to get a gravelly tone.  “Arrrr, we have a nerd on the starboard side.  Cast ye nets and haul in the scallywag.  You can put him in Davy Jones’ locker.  Arrrr.”

B.B. replied, “Oh, please, I have known boys that spent half the day locked in their own locker.  They couldn’t hold their waters.  That’s how people noticed they were locked inside.  You know, Phinehas is starting to grow on me.  I was just thinking about how King David was a man after God’s own heart.”

I asked, “David’s life was not an easy one.  Do you wish that on a boy who has not yet been born?”

B.B. snickered, “Stinker, you can make a joke out of anything, but you make some good points.  I think our best idea was the first idea.  We wanted to name our boy after two people that have shaped our lives in recent years.  We might just throw in the middle name of one of Joseph’s favorite pastors and authors.”

I shrugged, “So, don’t keep me guessing, what’s the name?”

B.B. waved a hand, “Charles Spurgeon’s middle name was Haddon.  Then Dr. Ben and Easy, not Easter.  How do you like Haddon Ben Easy Jones?”

A familiar voice from the center stall, “Well, it sure ‘hadn’t been easy’ listening to this conversation.  Boring!”

B.B. laughed, “Arabella, hearing your version, I am more convinced than ever.  It sure ‘hadn’t been easy’ agreeing on a name, so why not have that as the name?”

The stall door opened and Arabella washed her hands, “You know, you two are going to have to work on your material if you want to keep me entertained before class starts.”  With that, Arabella was gone.

I snickered, “B.B., we have been having these little pep talks before class for a year, I suppose.  No! A year and a half, and I had no idea that what we were supposed to be doing in here was to entertain Fireball.”

B.B. groaned, “Someone has to do it.”

She opened the door, and we went to the den, laughing.

Rev. Joseph led us in prayer.

Emmett had his band and choir.  They sang and played The Mighty One of Israel.

I asked, “That was a good one, but isn’t it talking about Jesus?”

Emmett said, “You don’t think David won all those battles by himself do you?”

I nodded, “I appreciate the work that all of you are doing, but I got an anonymous letter.  It seems that some people read a lot more than others do.  For one thing, I am shocked that anyone reads my reports, but to tally the amount of times each person reads is anal, and some of these people are not here every week.  So, come on!  They say that Emmett does not read much, but he directs the music and practices with the band and choir.  He even arranges some of the music.  Give the guy a break.  They say that Otto rarely reads anything, but he brings donuts, not every week, but often enough.  Sophie does not read much, but she scares me.  She has mad detective skills.  Zuzka doesn’t read often, but she is a head and a half taller than me.  And forget Joseline.  She is an Amazon, stronger than most men.  So, maybe I will have those people read today.”

Zuzka said, “I forgot reading glasses.”

I said with a straight face, “You do not wear reading glasses.”

Zuzka shrugged, “It worth try.”

Samuel asked, “Where are we searching for Jesus today, Aunt Jemima?”

I nodded, “We are looking at the book of 2 Samuel.  This is the kingship of David.  The focal point is the Davidic Covenant.  There are a few quotes in the New Testament.  And maybe more foreshadowing than Messianic prophecies.  Arabella, do we need Mr. Dictionary?”

Arabella shook her head, “Nope.  We covered 1 Samuel last week, and I sing in the choir with him.  So, this week, we will be looking at Sammie.”

Sammie ran from the play area.  “I’m right here!”

Menzie nodded, “Yes, Sammie.  Go back with Lauren and play.  Arabella was just being silly.”

I was wondering if this was a teachable moment, but I was thinking of leaving it alone until …

Easy said, “Belle, you do realize that in the Hebrew sacred texts there is one book of Samuel.  It only got split into two books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.  So, where does that put Sammie?”

Arabella laughed, “Thank you, Mr. Dictionary.  But wouldn’t that put Sammie still inside Menzie?”

Menzie groaned, “As big as he is now, I cannot imagine him still being inside me.  That boy can eat.”

I groaned, “Can we start the class?”

Joseph laughed, “You said a few weeks ago that once the opening prayer is made, class has already started.”

Sophia (2 Samuel 5:3-8) “When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, the king made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.
David was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.
The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, ‘You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.’ They thought, ‘David cannot get in here.’ Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion—which is the City of David.
On that day David had said, ‘Anyone who conquers the Jebusites will have to use the water shaft to reach those ‘lame and blind’ who are David’s enemies.’ That is why they say, ‘The “blind and lame” will not enter the palace.’”

Sophia said, ”This was a long one, worthy of picking on Blaise, but it speaks of David being anointed.  David was anointed three times.  Samuel anointed him.  Then after Saul was killed, Judah anointed him king of Judah.  And now this third one.  There may be something significant in the number, but I will leave that for people to think about.  David would become the kingly line where Jesus would be born.  Thus, in earthly terms, Jesus would be a king.  But you had me read how Jerusalem was taken.  The Jebusites were proud and haughty.  God does not like that, so He took them down a peg or two.  And we immediately see the new concept of what Jerusalem means to all Israel: the fortress of Zion and the City of David.”

I said, “You got all the points I was going after.  Easy, Sweetie, ummm, Mr. Dictionary?  What does Zion mean?”

Easy barely moved, “Zion is used interchangeably with Jerusalem, but to the Christians it goes farther than that.  Zion is the city and mountain of the most high, Heaven.”

Emmett (2 Samuel 2:11c-17) “’“The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”’
Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.”

Emmett said, “This is the Davidic Covenant as recorded in 2 Samuel.  The covenant is repeated in more detail in 1 Chronicles 17.  But in this covenant, you can read the entire thing and see Solomon in the promises, except in the last promise: the kingdom established forever.  But you can also see Jesus in the promises, except for the admonition of when he does wrong, God will punish.  Jesus did no wrong, but He was punished, not for His sins, but for ours.  And the floggings were inflicted by human hands.  I don’t think that Solomon was flogged.  The kingdom was split after Solomon’s death, but there is no record of flogging.  And I find it interesting that David was a man after God’s own heart, and this covenant was personal for David, but it was given to Nathan, the prophet.  And then Nathan had to give this revelation to David.”

I smiled, “Very thorough.  You and Sophia gave some good answers.  I think my Dad has a great new music director.”

Otto (Psalm 89:4, 32-34) “‘I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.’ …
“and then 32 through 34 ‘I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging; but I will not take my love from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered.’”

Otto said, “This quotes pieces of the covenant.”

I asked, “But who wrote it?  About half the psalms are attributed to David.”

Otto said, “It says at the top that it was written by Ethan the Ezrahite.  Ethan was only mentioned one other time, in 1 Kings 4:31, ‘He was wiser than anyone else, including Ethan the Ezrahite—wiser than Heman, Kalkol and Darda, the sons of Mahol. And his fame spread to all the surrounding nations.’ So, Solomon being wiser than Ethan was a big deal.”

I laughed, “Thank you, Otto.  We even got a bonus verse.  I didn’t have to ask Mr. Dictionary.”  I checked and Easy’s eyes were closed, but he smiled.

Zuzka (Psalm 132:11) “The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath he will not revoke: ‘One of your own descendants I will place on your throne.”

Zuzka said, “This say God make covenant with David, but then verse 12 hint that next generation have to do the right thing to keep throne.”

I nodded, “Yes, that had been implied, so God did not take back that promise.  And Jesus’ kingdom now is a spiritual kingdom.  That part is not conditional.  Then that kingdom will be physical on earth during the millennial reign.”

Zuzka asked, “When we get to New Testament?”

I asked, “Now?  If you want it?”  Zuzka nodded

Zuzka (Acts 2:30) “But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.”

Zuzka said, “Peter in Pentecost sermon say David is prophet, but Nathan is prophet telling David.  But Peter really saying that David died and we can all see David’s tomb, but Jesus from David’s family line and Jesus rise from grave.  He not there anymore.”

I smiled, “Very good, Zuzka.  But a prophet can be interpreted as someone explaining what God meant.  David does that beautifully in the psalms.  And once Nathan prophesied, David could be considered a prophet by passing on the information, especially to Solomon.”

Zuzka smiled and nodded.

Joseline (Hebrews 1:5) “For to which of the angels did God ever say, ‘You are my Son; today I have become your Father’? Or again, ‘I will be his Father, and he will be my Son’?”

Joseline said, “This flips the order of father and son and flips the verb tense.  The first is like what God the Father said when Jesus was baptized, but it is also in Psalm 2:7 ‘I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father.’  The second one uses a future tense and it matches what is said in 2 Samuel 7.  And what the author of Hebrews is establishing is that Jesus was and is above the angels.  No angels could be considered God’s children, but Jesus is.”

I sighed, “Maybe I should just e-mail the main verses and let the class use the cross references on their own.  Maybe you don’t need me.”

Arabella said, “You keep telling me I have to stay.  You are not getting away that easy, Aunt Jemima.”

Kevin (2 Samuel 23:1-7) “These are the last words of David: ‘The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse, the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, the hero of Israel’s songs: “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’ If my house were not right with God, surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant, arranged and secured in every part; surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation and grant me my every desire. But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns, which are not gathered with the hand. Whoever touches thorns uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear; they are burned up where they lie.’”

Kevin said, “David is repeating the covenant in his own words.  He talks about the need to rule in a righteous manner, but he does not hint that the kingdom will be taken away.  We know that the kingdom was split in the time of Rehoboam and the people were sent in exile during the time of the sons of Josiah, but the spiritual kingdom of Jesus is forever.  And that kingdom will take on a physical form when the new Heaven and new Earth are realized.”

I smiled, “Kevin can you re-read verses 3-4?”

Kevin read, “The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over people in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’ (2 Samuel 23:3-4). ”

“What do you make of the ‘Rock of Israel’ talking?” I asked.

Kevin shrugged. “Jesus?  He is the Rock of our salvation, but this is a bit flimsy to be a clear Christophany.”

I smiled, “That’s how I felt also.”

Brooke (2 Samuel 24:16-17) ”When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, ‘Enough! Withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.’ ”

Brooke grinned, “And this threshing floor is the thing that David had to buy.  He could not simply be given the threshing floor.  So, is the angel a Christophany?  There have been destroyer angels before without them being a Christophany, but the location is significant.  David builds an altar there to signify where the plague ended, and it is there where the temple would be built.  These are significant spiritual things.  The land must be bought at a price.  The altar signifies sacrifice.  And the temple is the ‘dwelling place’ of God, even though God is everywhere.”

I raised an eyebrow.  “That was very good for someone who has not been a Christian for long.”

Brooke laughed, “Goober and I have a few commentaries, and we each have study Bibles.  But Goober is taking a course on the Bible at the university.  Margie’s father teaches it.”

Goober said, “A good word from a friend doesn’t hurt, Margie.  Your Dad is brutal.”

Marguerite smiled, “It wouldn’t do any good.  He does not do the ‘favor for favor’ kind of thing, and he has been upset with me lately.  He says I spend more time with Blaise than I do with the family, but I can’t get Blaise to ever leave his lab.”

Goober shrugged, “If I didn’t ask, it was guaranteed not to happen.”

I said, “There are a couple of verses from 2 Samuel 22 that are quoted in the New Testament, but that wraps this up.  We can move on to Solomon’s temple next week in 1 Kings.”

Grannie Fannie (Galatians 6:18) “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.”

Lauren ran up to Grannie Fannie and hugged her.  “Are you ready to drive us?”

Brooke picked up Stormie as usual.  She said, “Oof!  You are growing up, girl.  Next week, you can carry me!”

Stormie just laughed.  Then Stormie said, “Boo!”

Brooke laughed, “My name is Brooke!  Kanok called me Book for a while.  Now it’s just ‘Boo.”  But I’ll take it.  I guess Goober is just ‘Goo’?”

Stormie obliged by saying, “Goo.”  Give her time, and she will catch up with her cousins.  But wait.  Gigi is an aunt and Mom Yeggs is expecting again.  This is all too confusing.

Credits

I start with a study guide by Marilyn Hickey called Seeing Jesus.  But she does not discuss Christophanies.  And I also did a search for prophecies and got a slightly different list.

Here is The Mighty One of Israel sung by Olney Family Worship Center.  The song was written by Don Moen.

Soli Deo Gloria.  Only to God be the Glory.