according to plan the unfolding revelation of God in the Bible graeme goldsworthyINTER-VARSITY PRESS Norton Street, Nottingham NG? 3HR, England Email: iop@ivpbooks.com Website: toww.ivpbooks.com © Graeme Goldsworthy 1991 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency. Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Published in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hodder Headline Ltd. First published 1991 Reprinted 1992, 1997, 1998, 2001 First published in Britain in this format 2003 Reprinted 2005, 2007, 2008 , 2009 , 2010 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Goldsworthy, Graeme According to plan 1. Christianity, Seriptures 1, Title 220 ISBN 978-1-84474-012-3 ‘Typeset in the United States of America Printed and bound in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hants. Inter-Varsity Press publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world. Inter-Varsity Press is closely linked with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, ard a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students, Website: www.tccforg.ikin GOD'S RULE IN GOD'S LAND You will be with child and give birth toa son,and you are to give him the nanie Jesus, He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Itim the throne of his father David. (Lk 1:31-32) Destray tis temple, and I will raise it agaite in three days, (fit 2:19) OUTLINE OF BIBLICAL HISTORY, 1 AND 2 SAMUEL, 1 KINGS 1—10, 1 CHRONICLES, 2 CHRONICLES 1—9 Sanuel became judge and prophet in all Israel at a time when the Philistines threat- ened the freedom of the nation. Au earlier movement for kingship was revived and the demand put toa reluctant Samuel, The first king, Saud, had a promising start to his reign but eventually showed himself unsuitable as the ruler of the covenant people, While Saul still reigned, David was anointed to succeed him, Because of Saul’s jeal- ousy, David became an outcast, However, when Saul died in battle, David returned and became king (about 1000 B.C.), Due to his successes Israel became a powerful and stable nation. He established a central sanctuary at Jerusalem and created a profes~ sional burenucracy and a permanent army. David's son, Solomon, succeeded Iuim (about 961 8.C.) and the prosperity of Israel continued. The building of the temple at Jerusalem was one of Solomon's more natable achievements. SAUL When Israel's possession of the Promised Land is threatened, the people naturally look for help, but not necessarily for the right kind of help. After Gideon's successes against the marauding Midianites, the Israelites make a bid to have him establish a dynasty of kings. Gideon rejects this on the grounds that the Lord alone is King (Judg 8:22-23). After the death of Gide- on, one of his sons, Abimelech, succeeds in being made ruler for a while, probably over only a relatively small region (Judg 9). The judges continue to rule. The book of Judges concludes with a reference to instability and chaos in the land as due to the lack of a king (Judg 21:25).GOD'S RULE IN Gob's LAND 165 During the time of the prophet and judge Samuel, some disastrous en- counters with the Philistines lead to a revival of the kingship movement. ‘There is some apparent ambivalence in Judges and 1 Samuel about the de- sirability of a kingship. Gideon rejected it, and now Samuel does also. It is sometimes suggested that 1 Samuel contains two strands, one drawn from a pro-king document and the other from an anti-king document. I find it difficult to believe that the author of 1 Samuel, as we now have it, was so inept that he couldn't sort out and avoid contradictory ideas. The ambiv- alence is not in the writing but in the real historical situation. We need to remember that the idea of kingship was established long be- fore this. Jacob prophesied of the kingship of Judah, with no suggestion that this would not be God’s will (Gen 49:8-10). Written into the statutes. and ordinances of Deuteronomy is the provision for a king (Deut 17:14-20). Strict guidelines are given which clearly distinguish between the usual type of pagan despotic ruler and the king whose rule reflects the covenant relationship with the living God. Israel's kings must fear the Lord, keep his, law and not lift up their heart above their brethren. In other words, king- ship for Israel is defined by the covenant. Unfortunately the people don’t always see it that way. Rather than taking the covenant as the model of kingship, they undoubtedly desire the benefits that appear to come from the autocratic rule of the Canaanite and Philistine kings. Thus, the request for a king, which Samuel at first refuses, is born of the desire to imitate the pagan nations. This was indeed a rejection of the cov- enant model and, therefore, a rejection of God’s rule (1 Sam 8:4-8). We may assume that God tells Samuel to comply with the request because it was always his will to rule Israel through a king. The people are to learn the hard way what the reality of covenant rule is. So Samuel warns them that the kind of king they ask for will not turn out to be what they want (1 Sam. 8:10-18). They are not interested in the covenant so much as in safety, se- curity and strength. They forget that God has committed himself in the covenant to give them those things in a way that no pagan ruler could. When Saul is chosen publicly by the drawing of lots, there is no sugges- tion that he will be a failure. In fact, he is full of promise and begins his reign by acting the part of a savior-judge. He is ready to recognize the hand of the Lord in his victory over the Ammonites (1 Sam 11:12-15). Samuel steps aside from the leadership but warns the people that it is up to them and Saul to follow the Lord. If they do, all will be well (1 Sam 12:14-15).166 ACCORDING TO PLAN But it is not to be so. Saul’s first major blunder is to take upon himself the office of priest, whereupon Samuel tells him that his kingdom will be taken from him (1 Sam 13:8-14). Then the Lord sends him to destroy the Amalekites, whom God puts under the ban. Saul keeps some of the best Amalekite livestock (in order to sacrifice them to God, or so he claims), Thus he shows himself to be the very opposite of the covenant king of Deuteronomy 17. He has rejected the word of the Lord and now the Lord rejects him from the kingship (1 Sam 15:1-23). @ Saul shows that kingship is God’s will for his people, but only if it reflects the cave- nant relationsiip, DAVID While Saul yet lives and reigns as king, a man after God’s own heart is be- ing drawn into the leadership through no plan or will of his own (1 Sam 13:14). Samuel is sent to choose David out of all the sons of Jesse (1 Sam 16:13), and to anoint him as king in the place of Saul. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon David but departs from Saul (1 Sam 16:13-14). The role of the savior-judge is never so clearly shown as it is when the young, Spirit-em- powered David slays Goliath (1 Sam 17). Here itis evident that the savior- judgeship is the precursor to the emerging savior-kingship. As all Israel re- treats in terror from the Philistines and their champion, God’s anointed king, who appears weak and insignificant, fights for his people knowing that the battle is the Lord's (1 Sam 17:45-47). David stands alone as the one in the place of the many, and through him God works salvation for Israel. Understandably David is the toast of the nation. Saul's jealousy grows until he desires only to kill David. Rejected and despised, David flees from society and gathers a band of misfits around him. Yet so overwhelming is his sense of the king being anointed by God, that he refuses on at least two occasions to lift his hand against Saul. He is prepared to leave it to the Lord to remove his anointed from office (1 Sam 24:1-7; 26:6-12). Likewise, in God's time, David will be vindicated in the eyes of the people and will be exalted to the kingship. Saul’s grasp on sanity and on the kingdom slips and he dies on Mount Gilboa in a battle with the Philistines (1 Sam 31). The transition from Saul’s rule to David's is not especially smooth. Nev-GOD'S RULE IN GaD‘s LAND 167 ertheless, David is soon proclaimed king at the age of thirty. At the Lord’s command he launches a successful campaign against the Philistines and secures the borders of Israel. He also captures the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem and makes it his capital (2 Sam 5). He brings the ark of the cov- enant to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6), and then decides to build a permanent sanc- tuary for it (2 Sam 7:1-3). However, the prophet Nathan brings the word of the Lord forbidding David to build it. God's covenant with David is of the utmost importance for understand- ing the theology that surrounds this most notable of all the kings. God promises to make David's name great and to give his people rest in their Jand. He will not allow David to build the house of God (a temple) but will himself make for David a house (a dynasty). David shall have a son who shall indeed build the temple and whose throne will be established forever (2 Sam 7:4-12). The continuity of this covenant with the covenant to Abra- ham can be seen in their respective summaries. “I will be their God, they will be my people” sums up God’s purpose in the covenant with Abraham and after him, with Israel (Gen 17:7-8; 26:12; Jer 7:23; 11:4; 30:22). Now the promise concerning David’s son, the one who will represent the many, is given as, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (2 Sam 7:14). Thus, David's son is also the son of God, and his house, throne and kingdom are established forever (2 Sam 7:16). Long after he is gone, David is praised for this covenant relationship. An example is found in Psalm 89 (see also Ps 132), The psalmist begins by praising God for his covenant love (Hebrew: /tesed) and faithfulness which is established forever (verses 1-2). All the hope of Israel now focuses on the prophecies of Nathan to David (2 Sam 7); indeed, this covenant with Da- vid is portrayed as the most significant of all God’s promises. You said, “Ihave made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, ‘Lwill establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.” (Ps 89:3-4) Then there is an apparent intrusion as the psalmist moves to heavenly regions where God is praised by all creatures and by the hosts of angelic beings. From there God exercises his kingship in the world, controlling na- ture and showing grace to his people (Ps 89:5-18). But this is no intrusion, for this glorious reign of God is to be represented on earth by the kingship168 ACCORDING TO PLAN of David and his line. The covenant with David includes all the earlier cov- enant promises, The psalmist says of God: Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness (Iesed)) go before you. (Ps 89:14) And of David's son he says: My faithful love (iesed) will be with him, and through my name his horn will be exalted. (Ps 89:24) The covenant is both conditional and unconditional: If his sons forsake my law ... I will punish their sin with the rod, their iniquity with flogging. But I will not take my love (hesed) from him, nor will I ever betray my faithfulness. I will not violate my covenant or alter what my lips have uttered. (Ps 89:30, 32-34) We have already seen this conditional / unconditional principle operate when a whole generation of the chosen people dies in the wilderness for its sins, yet a new generation continues under the promise. We shall see it repeated more than once in the future. It simply means that the unfaithful- ness of the covenant people invites the judgment of God, but is never al- lowed to annul the covenant faithfulness (hesed) of God. Somehow, aut of the faithless covenant people, there always emerges a part, a remnant, which is faithful because God is faithful. David receives promises from God which sunt up all the previous covenant promises, and focus them on David's line of descendants. SOLOMON Solomon succeeds his father, David, to the throne around the year 961 B.C. He is a complex character who, like his predecessors, shows much promise alongside some significant failings. The narrative in 1 Kings 3—10 concen- trates on the good points of this man to whom Nathan's prophecy referred as the son of God and the temple builder. Some negative elements of hisGOD'S RULE IN GOD'S LAND 169 reign, such as mixed marriages and religious disobedience, are hinted at without direct comment (1 Kings 3:1-2), only after we learn of his virtues. The notable features of Solomon are narrated in a way that shows him to be the one who puts the finishing touches to the glories of David’s reign. David was an astute leader and used the counsel of wise men. Sol- omon is spoken of as the leading wise man of Israel who desires and re- ceives an understanding mind to govern the people (1 Kings 3:6-9; 4:29- 34). The fact that wisdom characterizes his reign demands that we try to understand the significance of wisdom in biblical theology (see chapter eighteen). The king who rules wisely is not only concerned with intelli- gent decisions which promote justice (1 Kings 3:16-28), but he also achieves prosperity in the good land according to the covenant promise (1 Kings 4:20-28). He seeks out the relationships that exist between all parts of the creation (1 Kings 4:29-34). At the heart of his wisdom is the revelation of God and his covenant. Even the magnificence of the temple is related to Solomon’s wisdom. David's religious masterstroke was to bring the ark to Jerusalem and to make the city the focal point of the covenant relationship with God. All the promises of God concerning his relationship to his people and the land he gives them are concentrated in Jerusalem, or Zion. Solomon now builds the temple as the dwelling place of God in the holy city. Its glory is de- scribed in detail in 1 Kings 5—7, but the theology of the temple is con- tained in Solomon’s dedicatory prayer (1 Kings 8). In the first place the temple replaces the tabernacle and functions as a permanent and fixed sanctuary within the Promised Land. When the ark is brought to the sanctuary the glory of the Lord fills the house (1 Kings 8:6-10). This is now the place of sacrifice and of reconciliation with God. When sin clouds the relationship of the nation to God, repentance and Prayer towards the temple secure forgiveness. Through this house and its ministry the covenant relationship is maintained (1 Kings 8:15-53). Even the promise to the Gentiles is focused here, for it is at the temple that foreigners can find acceptance with God. The temple is a witness to all the nations that God dwells in Israel and that he is found through the name he has revealed and by which the temple is named. In other words, a foreigner can be jained to the people of God only by coming to the tem- ple, for it is here that God chooses to deal with those who seek him (1 Kings 8:41-43).170 ACCORDING TO PLAN THE PATTERN OF RULE IN THE NEW EARTH SUMMARY The combined effect of the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon was to show the pattern of God's rule in the new earth, At the heart of it was the covenant, The king represented the whole na- tion as the true covenant partner of God. At the same time, he mediated God’s rule to the peo- ple in conjunction with the temple and its min- istry of reconciliation and forgiveness. KINGDOM Gop MANKIND CREATION ADAM AND EVE FLoop Gop Noaw ARK ABRAHAM Gop ABRAHAM'S CANAAN DESCENDANTS Moses THE Lorp | ISRAEL CANAAN DavID THE LORD | DAVID’S LINE ‘TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM MAIN THEMES Judgeship Kingship Temple Davidic covenant SOME KEY WORDS Covenant love (hesed) THE PATH AHEAD David's line established in Jerusalem—A new David will reign in a new Jerusalem, Jeremi- ah 23:5-6; Ezekiel 34:20-31—Christ, the new David, Acts 2:29-33; 13:23, 32-34con's RULE IN GOD'S LAND 171 Of course, Solomon's reign and character are blemished. The biblical history, however, concentrates first of all on the positive points, for it is from these that the theological significance of Solomon can be drawn. He is the covenanted son of God who mediates God's rule in God’s land. To- gether with David he shows the pattern of the rule of the messianic savior- king. The messianic reign is marked by true wisdom, by the glory of the land and of the royal court. It is capped by the house of God, which, for Israel, is the visible center of the universe and the touchstone of reality and truth. Solomon completes the pattern of God's rule which is mediated through the anointed king (inessiah). STUDY GUIDE TO CHAPTER 17 1, From the wider perspective on kingship looked at in this chapter, why was God so hard on Saul? Was it wrong for the Israelites to have want- ed aking? 2. Read 2 Samuel 7:1-14. Why do you think some have seen this passage as the theological center of the books of Samuel? See what other biblical writers have said about it: Psalms 89; 132; Isaiah 9:6-7; 55:1-4; Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:23-26; Ezekiel 34:20-24. 3. How does Solomon fulfill Nathan’s prophecy about David's son in 2 Samuel 7:12-14? Given that Israel is ideally God’s son, what does it mean that Solomon is God's son? 4, Summarize the biblical theology of kingship over God's people as it has been revealed up to the time of Solomon. FURTHER READING 1. GK, pp. 69-76. 2. IBD articles on “David,” “Saul,” “Solomon,” “Temple.” 3. KG, chap. 1.