[124]David himself was a prophet of Jehovah, and the Lord spoke through him with reference to the heir of the Abrahamic promise who should be king over Israel. "Then David the king stood upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: but God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. Howbeit the Lord God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel for ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: and of all my sons (for the Lord hath given me many sons) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel. And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father. Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day,"—1 Chronicles 28:2-7.
[125]Thus far the divine record definitely establishes the fact that the great heir or king of Israel, the seed through which the blessings of God would be bestowed, must come through David's line; and that also it should come through Solomon, provided, of course, the conditions laid upon Solomon were fulfilled. In any event, it must come through David's line, and through his son Solomon provided Solomon met the requirements. We repeat the words for emphasis: "Moreover I will establish his kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my commandments and my judgments, as at this day". And then David said: "And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever". —1 Chronicles 28:9.
[126]The question is, Did Solomon receive the approval of the Lord? If so, the great Messiah must come through his line. If not, then he could not come through Solomon. This question is answered by the Scriptures, as follows: "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father.... And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded. Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen,"—1 Kings 11:4,9-13.
[127]After Solomon's death the nation of Israel was divided. The last three kings of Solomon's line to rule over Israel were Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin (also called Coniah) and Zedekiah. Zedekiah became a wicked ruler and of him it is recorded: "And thou, profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord God: Remove the diadem, and take off the crown; this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it; and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [to] him." (Ezekiel 21:25-27) This shows a complete overthrowing of the line of Solomon and definitely settles the proposition that Messiah could not be counted through the line of Solomon, but must be some other way. Seemingly God's promise to bring the mighty deliverer through the line of David had failed, because of Solomon's failure. But not so. David had another son, whom the Lord used. Solomon's line had been exalted. Now this line must be abased, and the lower line must be exalted.
[128]The obscure line of David was his son Nathan. Mary the mother of Jesus was a direct descendant of Nathan of the house of David.
[129]Jeremiah prophesied concerning the coming of Messiah, as follows: "Behold the day is coming, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper.... In his day Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is the name that Jehovah proclaimeth him, Our Righteousness."—Jeremiah 23:5,6, Young.
[130]Mary, the mother-to-be of Jesus, was approached by the angel of the Lord, who said to her: "Fear not, Mary; for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her: The holy spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."—Luke 1:30-35.
[131]Then Mary, seemingly directed by the power of Jehovah, said: "My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Savior. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden; for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath showed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree." (Luke 1:46-52) Her words draw the contrast between the once favored family of Solomon and the humbler family of Nathan, Solomon's family being abased and Nathan's now exalted. Thus the proof is brought forth that the Lord did raise up unto David a righteous branch.
IN EXPECTATION
[132]The promise made to Abraham, which was subsequently repeated to others, thoroughly impressed the minds of the devout Israelites with the thought that at some future time there would be born of a woman of the Jewish people a holy child, and that in some way to them not understood this child would be the means of blessing all the families and nations of the earth. They expected the Jewish nation to become the greatest nation of earth, and looked for all other nations to flow unto it, be subservient to it and receive their blessings through it. These conclusions they based upon the words of the prophets, even though they did not fully understand the meaning of those prophecies. To them the prophet Isaiah had said: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2,3) And again: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."—Isaiah 9:6,7.