Reading: Jeremiah 23:5-6 (NRSV)
Song: Once in Royal David’s City (lyrics here)
Reflection
For this week, we will be looking each day at a person or group that plays a key part in the Christmas story. We begin with King David.
King David, even despite his shortcomings and failures, was Israel’s model king. His reign over the nation was Israel’s “golden age,” a time when peace, righteousness, and justice held sway in the land. This is a remarkable truth, given David’s status as a self-acknowledged sinner who committed adultery and murder while king. Yet his sin does not define him. In the psalms we have a record of his confession and repentance, which God honored and used to demonstrate his mercy and forgiveness, so that in the end David is known as a “man after God’s own heart.” (1 Samuel 13, Acts 13).
In truth things for the nation of Israel go downhill fast following David’s death. His son Solomon may have started well, but his auspicious start gave way to poor decisions and eventual idolatry. David’s grandsons fared even worse, leading to a civil war that divided the nation. The monarchy never fully recovered.
We’re told that in all the history of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, not a single king was righteous. Judah, the Southern Kingdom, fared a little better. Some of their kings actually sought to honor God and return Israel to its covenant roots, but it never seemed to last. Under King Josiah the nation experienced a revival of sorts when a Book of the Law was discovered during renovations of the temple, leading to his banning of all pagan cults from the land. But again, it wasn’t to last. The kings who followed Josiah did not follow his example, and their wickedness provides the backdrop for what the prophet Jeremiah speaks in chapter twenty-three.
Following a rebuke of the “shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep” (Jer. 23:1), the prophet is given a vision of a king who will return Israel to its legacy of righteousness and justice. This king will be a “righteous branch” from the family tree of David, and his very name will echo with the righteousness of God. These words would have spoken powerfully to the people of Israel who longed for freedom and restoration, and the mere mention of David’s name in reference to this coming King would have filled them with hope.
More than 2500 years after Jeremiah wrote his prophecy, we look around and we, too, are familiar with “shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep.” We may not have kings, but we do have rulers who abuse their positions of power. We have elected officials who look to their own interests instead of those of the people. And we even have pastors, whose very title means “shepherd,” who can sometimes cause the flock to scatter and lose faith.
As we make our way to Bethlehem (the city of David) during Advent, and as we also long for a return to righteousness and justice, we do well to meditate on the life of David and the promises of his Righteous Branch. In Christ the promise made to David finds its ultimate fulfillment:
“When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:12-13, NRSV)
How does it affect your Advent preparations to spend time meditating on these kingly prophecies concerning the Messiah? In what ways does the Christmas season resonate with your desire for a rule of justice and righteousness? Spend some time before God in prayer and worship, reflecting on Christ’s coming reign and the desires of your heart.