“‘“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.”’” -2 Samuel 7:11b-13
The amazing thing about God’s promises is that they can speak to both the near future and the distant future. For example, this passage from 2 Samuel is a promise that was fulfilled both a few years after King David’s death and a few hundred years after that.
God promised to raise up someone from David’s own flesh and blood to establish his kingdom forever and to build a house for the Lord. This can easily point to Solomon, David’s son who became king and built the Temple, referred to as the house of the Lord.
But God’s covenant with David was not just about his son, the Temple, or his earthly kingdom. God had a bigger plan in mind—a plan that involved an everlasting Kingdom and a Messiah for all people.
This was welcome news to the nation of Israel—a hope to cling to. But after waiting for more than 200 years, God’s people no longer trusted in His promises. The Israelites rebelled and trusted in the promises of the world. Many believed God was not going to follow through with His covenant. After all, they had not seen the Messiah they were promised.
Had God forgotten His covenant?
The prophet Isaiah addressed this issue with the rebellious nation to tell the people that God would stay true to His promise.
“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” -Isaiah 11:1-3a
Isaiah prophesied that a righteous Branch would come from the stump of Jesse—Jesse being King David’s father. After hundreds of years, the covenant was still intact. This time, the prophecy couldn’t have been about Solomon; this was long after his death. Rather, the Lord told Isaiah about a Messiah who would transform the world, and this Messiah would not just be for the nation of Israel.
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious.” -Isaiah 11:10
As it had always been, God’s plan was for the Messiah to save all people, Jews and Gentiles alike. The Apostle Paul recognized this and used this verse in Isaiah in his reasoning for taking the gospel to the Gentiles.
“For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written: ‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing the praises of your name.’ … And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.’” -Romans 15:8-9, 12
By the time Jesus left His throne in Heaven to walk on the Earth, many people did not acknowledge Him as the Root of Jesse, the Son of David. But some did—some, including the Gentiles.
“A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, ‘Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me!’” -Matthew 15:22a, emphasis added
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