David Anointed Twice

One of the stumbling blocks to Jews considering Jesus to be the Messiah is the fact that he didn’t do most of the things that the Messiah was expected to do. The primary expectation of the Messiah (anointed one), based on the prophetic scriptures, was to set up the promised kingdom of God and reign from David’s throne in Jerusalem. Jesus certainly did not do that in the first century C.E.

Many of us who follow Jesus and consider him to be the Messiah believe that he will return and do exactly that at some point in the future. Jesus was a teacher of Judaism, and he announced the prophetic kingdom as being near, with himself as the king. When that kingdom was rejected by the Jewish leaders of the time, the plan changed. Jesus became the sacrificial servant described in Isaiah 53. But the plan for the kingdom was delayed until a future time.

This delay can be seen to be illustrated in the experience of David, the prototypical king of Israel, to whom it was promised that his descendants would retain the throne of Israel forever. (II Samuel 7:16) David was anointed by Samuel to be king when he was just a boy. Saul had recently been chosen as Israel’s first king. But Saul had disobeyed God’s commands on a couple of occasions. God rejected him as king, and sent Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons as the next king. Jesse’s seven older sons were presented, but each one was rejected by God for the role. Finally David, the youngest, was summoned from watching the sheep, and anointed by Samuel as God’s choice.

Interestingly, it was many years before David actually assumed the throne. During the intervening years David played the harp for Saul, defeated Goliath, and was loved by the people to the extent that Saul became jealous and tried to kill him. These efforts were not successful, as David, in a way, defeated death. Many years later, as David and his followers were living among the Philistines, the enemies of Israel, Saul and his son Jonathan were killed in battle against the Philistines. David then was recognized as king over Israel, and anointed again to that position.

These events in David’s life could be taken to illustrate the past and future appearances of Jesus. He was proclaimed as the anointed Messiah during his lifetime. But he actually was killed and was resurrected. Those who claim to be his followers have often opposed the people of Israel. But many of us believe that the time is coming when Jesus will return and set up God’s kingdom over Israel. At that point, if not before, Jews will recognize him and embrace him as their promised Messiah. That is the message that his first century followers taught.

Just as David’s actual reign was delayed for many years after his anointing by Samuel, so Jesus’ kingdom has been delayed for thousands of years. But events such as the establishment of the state of Israel imply that maybe the time is coming soon for the kingdom to be established. As Jesus announced at his first coming, “Repent, and turn to God, for the kingdom is near.” He commanded his followers to pray for the coming of the kingdom. In the same way, we pray, “Return in mercy to Jerusalem Your city and dwell therein as You have promised; speedily establish therein the throne of David Your servant, and rebuild it, soon in our days, as an everlasting edifice. Speedily cause the scion of David your servant to flourish, and increase his power by Your salvation, for we hope for Your salvation all day.”