1
00:00:01,100 --> 00:00:05,100
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

2
00:00:05,100 --> 00:00:06,766
welcome back.

3
00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:10,633
Welcome back from your Thanksgiving

4
00:00:10,633 --> 00:00:11,266
break.

5
00:00:13,200 --> 00:00:16,200
Of course, you have come back completely

6
00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:17,100
refreshed.

7
00:00:18,366 --> 00:00:20,666
You have come back completely ready for

8
00:00:20,666 --> 00:00:23,000
these last two weeks of the semester.

9
00:00:24,433 --> 00:00:26,133
Yes, Advent has arrived,

10
00:00:26,133 --> 00:00:29,933
and we have arrived at a time of quiet

11
00:00:29,933 --> 00:00:32,900
meditation, contemplation, and

12
00:00:32,900 --> 00:00:34,300
repentance.

13
00:00:36,300 --> 00:00:37,466
Wouldn't that be great?

14
00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,300
Wouldn't it be great to be refreshed

15
00:00:40,300 --> 00:00:41,066
after a holiday?

16
00:00:41,533 --> 00:00:44,100
Wouldn't it be great to have an Advent

17
00:00:44,100 --> 00:00:46,866
that is actually quiet and contemplative,

18
00:00:46,866 --> 00:00:47,666
peaceful?

19
00:00:49,433 --> 00:00:51,433
But we have made it to Advent, so Happy

20
00:00:51,433 --> 00:00:52,000
New Year.

21
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:55,166
Today, yesterday, begins the beginning of

22
00:00:55,166 --> 00:00:57,566
this new church year, a time of

23
00:00:57,566 --> 00:00:58,833
anticipation,

24
00:00:59,033 --> 00:01:02,566
a time of preparation, a time of waiting

25
00:01:02,566 --> 00:01:03,700
and hoping.

26
00:01:05,366 --> 00:01:08,733
And as we enter Advent, I love that Dr.

27
00:01:08,733 --> 00:01:12,400
Vieker chose this text from 2 Samuel 7,

28
00:01:12,533 --> 00:01:15,833
specifically the second half of 2 Samuel

29
00:01:15,833 --> 00:01:16,166
7.

30
00:01:17,366 --> 00:01:19,566
The first half appears in the lectionary

31
00:01:19,566 --> 00:01:20,666
a number of times,

32
00:01:20,666 --> 00:01:23,100
but the second half never appears,

33
00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:25,533
neither the one nor the three-year

34
00:01:25,533 --> 00:01:26,533
lectionary.

35
00:01:26,666 --> 00:01:28,333
It doesn't appear at all.

36
00:01:28,933 --> 00:01:31,433
Now, it is good and right and salutary

37
00:01:31,433 --> 00:01:34,000
that we pay attention to the first half

38
00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:35,100
of 2 Samuel 7.

39
00:01:36,666 --> 00:01:38,966
Since 1999, when I first had the

40
00:01:38,966 --> 00:01:40,633
opportunity to teach,

41
00:01:40,933 --> 00:01:44,566
I have been drilling into students' heads

42
00:01:44,566 --> 00:01:48,266
the incredible importance of 2 Samuel 7.

43
00:01:48,266 --> 00:01:52,133
It is a critical, a pivotal chapter.

44
00:01:53,933 --> 00:01:57,933
As you trace the promises of God from

45
00:01:57,933 --> 00:02:02,500
Genesis to Jesus, 2 Samuel 7 is crucial.

46
00:02:04,733 --> 00:02:07,500
But in all that time, I've only focused

47
00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:10,333
myself and my students on the first half

48
00:02:10,333 --> 00:02:11,533
of 2 Samuel 7.

49
00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,733
We tend to ignore the second half.

50
00:02:17,433 --> 00:02:20,033
Now, in order to hear today's text well,

51
00:02:20,033 --> 00:02:22,600
for it to be meaningful, we have to know

52
00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:23,833
that first half,

53
00:02:23,866 --> 00:02:25,800
and it would be irresponsible of me as a

54
00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:27,866
preacher to just assume that you know it.

55
00:02:28,066 --> 00:02:30,766
I invite you to take a look in your pew

56
00:02:30,766 --> 00:02:33,233
Bible, page 259 and 260, I think,

57
00:02:34,033 --> 00:02:37,633
or pull out your phone and look on your

58
00:02:37,633 --> 00:02:39,866
Bible app, 2 Samuel 7.

59
00:02:43,033 --> 00:02:46,766
David is perhaps in the first third of

60
00:02:46,766 --> 00:02:49,633
his time as king of Israel.

61
00:02:51,233 --> 00:02:53,933
He has ruled in Judah for seven years,

62
00:02:53,933 --> 00:02:56,633
and now he's been anointed king of all

63
00:02:56,633 --> 00:02:57,366
Israel.

64
00:02:57,833 --> 00:03:01,600
He has brought the Ark to Jerusalem.

65
00:03:03,466 --> 00:03:06,466
As the chapter begins, God has given rest

66
00:03:06,466 --> 00:03:09,333
to David from his enemies all around.

67
00:03:09,333 --> 00:03:13,566
And we find David housed in a cedar

68
00:03:13,566 --> 00:03:18,200
palace, while the Ark of God is housed

69
00:03:18,200 --> 00:03:21,233
behind a tent curtain.

70
00:03:22,566 --> 00:03:25,300
And so it is that David intends to build

71
00:03:25,300 --> 00:03:27,866
a better house, a temple of stone and

72
00:03:27,866 --> 00:03:29,433
cedar for the Ark of

73
00:03:29,433 --> 00:03:32,000
God. And at first, Nathan the prophet

74
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,600
encourages him. But in a night vision,

75
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:36,133
God comes to Nathan

76
00:03:36,133 --> 00:03:40,633
and gives him a message for David. Not

77
00:03:40,633 --> 00:03:45,400
you. Not you, David. You will not be the

78
00:03:45,400 --> 00:03:47,666
one to build for

79
00:03:47,666 --> 00:03:51,533
me a house. You see, David, I've done

80
00:03:51,533 --> 00:03:55,800
great things for you and through you, and

81
00:03:55,800 --> 00:03:57,900
I'm not done yet.

82
00:03:58,866 --> 00:04:02,733
But you, David, you are not the one. You

83
00:04:02,733 --> 00:04:05,433
will not build me a house.

84
00:04:06,933 --> 00:04:09,400
In fact, David, I'm going to build you a

85
00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:11,800
house. No, David, yes, you already live

86
00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:13,166
in a house of stone

87
00:04:13,166 --> 00:04:16,166
and cedar, not that kind of a house. I am

88
00:04:16,166 --> 00:04:18,266
going to build you a house of

89
00:04:18,266 --> 00:04:20,166
descendants, a lineage.

90
00:04:20,166 --> 00:04:23,533
And one of your descendants will sit on

91
00:04:23,533 --> 00:04:26,866
the throne after you, and He will build

92
00:04:26,866 --> 00:04:28,066
me a house,

93
00:04:29,533 --> 00:04:32,866
a temple. In fact, you will have many

94
00:04:32,866 --> 00:04:36,266
descendants on the throne and one will

95
00:04:36,266 --> 00:04:38,633
come. The seed of yours

96
00:04:38,633 --> 00:04:41,333
will rule on the throne forever. Now, if

97
00:04:41,333 --> 00:04:43,933
you were following along, of course, I

98
00:04:43,933 --> 00:04:45,300
was paraphrasing.

99
00:04:45,433 --> 00:04:49,233
But now we've all got the picture. Well,

100
00:04:49,233 --> 00:04:52,966
it's important that we actually go back

101
00:04:52,966 --> 00:04:54,400
even further

102
00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,500
than that. We need a lot of context to

103
00:04:56,500 --> 00:04:58,633
know the importance of this passage.

104
00:04:59,733 --> 00:05:04,033
For God is a God of promises and a God of

105
00:05:04,033 --> 00:05:08,166
action. He promised that first couple

106
00:05:09,266 --> 00:05:12,766
that their seed would crush the head of

107
00:05:12,766 --> 00:05:14,033
the serpent.

108
00:05:15,033 --> 00:05:16,866
And the promise continued on and it

109
00:05:16,866 --> 00:05:18,933
narrowed and it narrowed and it narrowed

110
00:05:18,933 --> 00:05:19,666
through the

111
00:05:19,666 --> 00:05:22,666
generations and it came to Abram who

112
00:05:22,666 --> 00:05:25,800
would become Abraham and then to Isaac

113
00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:27,366
and to Jacob and

114
00:05:27,366 --> 00:05:31,366
to Judah. And for a time, it seems to get

115
00:05:31,366 --> 00:05:35,033
left behind and we see God working and

116
00:05:35,033 --> 00:05:36,800
making promises

117
00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,766
to Moses and through Moses to the people,

118
00:05:39,766 --> 00:05:42,633
to Israel, to Joshua and through Joshua

119
00:05:42,633 --> 00:05:43,666
and various

120
00:05:43,666 --> 00:05:46,600
judges. And finally, Judah comes back

121
00:05:46,600 --> 00:05:49,700
into sight as God raises up for himself

122
00:05:49,700 --> 00:05:51,066
as King David.

123
00:05:53,566 --> 00:05:57,566
And to David, he makes these promises.

124
00:05:59,100 --> 00:06:01,366
Promises sound that sound like the

125
00:06:01,366 --> 00:06:03,900
promise He has made to His nation, the

126
00:06:03,900 --> 00:06:05,666
promises He has made to

127
00:06:05,900 --> 00:06:08,900
Abraham, the promise He made to that

128
00:06:08,900 --> 00:06:11,933
first couple. Through it all, God has

129
00:06:11,933 --> 00:06:14,000
made promises and He's

130
00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:17,300
been at work to fulfill those promises,

131
00:06:17,300 --> 00:06:20,600
keeping His promises. And so we come to

132
00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,066
our text today

133
00:06:22,066 --> 00:06:25,433
that Bob read for us, the second half of

134
00:06:25,433 --> 00:06:28,800
2 Samuel 7, where David finally responds

135
00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,300
to all of this.

136
00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:35,766
Who am I? And what is my house that you

137
00:06:35,766 --> 00:06:38,933
have brought me thus far?

138
00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,300
It's a rhetorical question. David knows

139
00:06:43,300 --> 00:06:45,700
the answer. God knows the answer. You and

140
00:06:45,700 --> 00:06:46,466
I know the

141
00:06:46,466 --> 00:06:51,100
answer. David, you are nobody. Your house

142
00:06:51,100 --> 00:06:54,966
is nothing apart from the gracious

143
00:06:54,966 --> 00:06:58,133
promises and work of God.

144
00:07:00,300 --> 00:07:03,100
Nobody special, nothing important. David

145
00:07:03,100 --> 00:07:05,366
knows it and that's the point.

146
00:07:06,833 --> 00:07:10,600
But God has chosen him. God has anointed

147
00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,266
him as king over His people and now God

148
00:07:14,266 --> 00:07:15,500
makes even

149
00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:18,933
greater promises to His anointed king and

150
00:07:18,933 --> 00:07:22,033
through David to Israel and to all of

151
00:07:22,033 --> 00:07:23,066
humanity.

152
00:07:24,100 --> 00:07:27,366
Now in verse 19, David recognizes, even

153
00:07:27,366 --> 00:07:30,733
though the ESV translation committee may

154
00:07:30,733 --> 00:07:31,300
not,

155
00:07:32,866 --> 00:07:37,200
that God is speaking to him about the

156
00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,966
man, not just generic mankind.

157
00:07:43,966 --> 00:07:47,666
God has given Torah or instruction about

158
00:07:47,666 --> 00:07:51,266
ha-adam, the man, the one, the seed who

159
00:07:51,266 --> 00:07:53,033
will come to him

160
00:07:53,033 --> 00:07:56,600
from David's line, the one who will rule

161
00:07:56,600 --> 00:07:59,100
on David's throne forever.

162
00:08:01,266 --> 00:08:03,766
Yes, David will have a lineage, a

163
00:08:03,766 --> 00:08:06,900
descendant from his own body and that son

164
00:08:06,900 --> 00:08:08,800
will sit on the throne

165
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,833
and build a house. He will build a temple

166
00:08:12,833 --> 00:08:16,766
of stone and wood for Yahweh. But Yahweh

167
00:08:16,766 --> 00:08:18,566
has promised an

168
00:08:18,566 --> 00:08:20,900
even later and greater descendant who

169
00:08:20,900 --> 00:08:23,166
will not only rule on this throne,

170
00:08:25,333 --> 00:08:29,733
but will actually be the temple, the

171
00:08:29,733 --> 00:08:34,500
place where God dwells among His people

172
00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:36,700
in bodily form.

173
00:08:38,033 --> 00:08:41,033
In this one, David's house and kingdom

174
00:08:41,033 --> 00:08:43,766
will be made sure. In this one, the

175
00:08:43,766 --> 00:08:45,666
throne is established

176
00:08:45,666 --> 00:08:46,200
forever.

177
00:08:49,466 --> 00:08:52,966
But at the time, the time when these

178
00:08:52,966 --> 00:08:56,533
promises are made sometime during the

179
00:08:56,533 --> 00:08:58,766
first third or so of

180
00:08:58,766 --> 00:09:01,400
David's reign as king, both sons, the

181
00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:04,333
initial one who will build the temple and

182
00:09:04,333 --> 00:09:05,833
the one who is the

183
00:09:08,500 --> 00:09:13,900
king. So David will live in hope. He will

184
00:09:13,900 --> 00:09:19,066
live clinging to the promises of Adonai

185
00:09:19,066 --> 00:09:20,400
Yahweh.

186
00:09:22,866 --> 00:09:26,200
And David says it is these promises that

187
00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:29,033
bring forth the prayer that we are

188
00:09:29,033 --> 00:09:30,900
privileged to hear.

189
00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:38,533
Because Adonai Yahweh has promised David

190
00:09:38,533 --> 00:09:43,166
prays. And his prayer is a prayer of

191
00:09:43,166 --> 00:09:45,166
praise and of

192
00:09:45,166 --> 00:09:48,533
request. He praises Adonai Yahweh for who

193
00:09:48,533 --> 00:09:51,633
he is and what he has done and what he

194
00:09:51,633 --> 00:09:53,433
promises yet to do.

195
00:09:53,866 --> 00:09:56,666
And then David requests only after all of

196
00:09:56,666 --> 00:09:59,333
that, David requests that Adonai Yahweh

197
00:09:59,333 --> 00:10:00,666
would do exactly

198
00:10:00,666 --> 00:10:06,800
what He has promised to do. David prays.

199
00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:11,600
He prays a prayer of praise and

200
00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:13,766
expectation

201
00:10:14,800 --> 00:10:18,766
as he waits for the promises of God.

202
00:10:22,333 --> 00:10:24,533
You and I live on the other side. David

203
00:10:24,533 --> 00:10:26,700
is waiting for both of those sons. You

204
00:10:26,700 --> 00:10:28,000
and I have seen them

205
00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,366
both. We live on the other side of

206
00:10:30,366 --> 00:10:32,900
Solomon. In fact we live on the other

207
00:10:32,900 --> 00:10:34,500
side of the seed who

208
00:10:34,500 --> 00:10:38,600
would come after him, Jesus the Christ.

209
00:10:38,600 --> 00:10:41,933
And we have seen in the pages of

210
00:10:41,933 --> 00:10:43,300
scripture,

211
00:10:43,700 --> 00:10:46,833
we have seen David's son Solomon come to

212
00:10:46,833 --> 00:10:49,800
the throne and rule on that throne and

213
00:10:49,800 --> 00:10:50,766
build the

214
00:10:50,766 --> 00:10:55,333
temple of Yahweh. We have seen God be

215
00:10:55,333 --> 00:10:59,433
faithful as He has promised to be

216
00:10:59,433 --> 00:11:03,166
faithful even when that son

217
00:11:03,166 --> 00:11:06,300
of David was not faithful. Repeatedly we

218
00:11:06,300 --> 00:11:09,366
hear that the throne was not taken away

219
00:11:09,366 --> 00:11:11,200
from the descendants

220
00:11:11,200 --> 00:11:14,566
of David for the sake of the promises

221
00:11:14,566 --> 00:11:18,166
that God had made to David his servant.

222
00:11:18,166 --> 00:11:20,000
We have also seen

223
00:11:20,766 --> 00:11:24,033
the greater, the fuller fulfillment of

224
00:11:24,033 --> 00:11:27,500
David's son Jesus, the true and very son

225
00:11:27,500 --> 00:11:28,366
of God.

226
00:11:28,866 --> 00:11:33,066
We have seen what He has done fulfilling

227
00:11:33,066 --> 00:11:37,133
the promises of God in His incarnation,

228
00:11:37,133 --> 00:11:38,400
His life,

229
00:11:38,900 --> 00:11:40,900
His death, His resurrection, His

230
00:11:40,900 --> 00:11:43,433
ascension, His session at the right hand

231
00:11:43,433 --> 00:11:44,500
of the Father.

232
00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:48,200
And yet even with all of that,

233
00:11:50,766 --> 00:11:57,066
we wait, we hope, we anticipate for there

234
00:11:57,066 --> 00:11:59,866
is more to come.

235
00:12:02,366 --> 00:12:07,300
And as we wait, we can ask like David,

236
00:12:09,266 --> 00:12:14,200
who am I? Who am I that you have brought

237
00:12:14,200 --> 00:12:15,933
me this far?

238
00:12:15,933 --> 00:12:22,766
You know the answer, so do I. Like David,

239
00:12:22,766 --> 00:12:28,466
apart from Christ, we are nothing.

240
00:12:28,466 --> 00:12:30,133
Nobody.

241
00:12:32,466 --> 00:12:35,600
Poor miserable sinners.

242
00:12:38,800 --> 00:12:41,600
Nobody deserving nothing.

243
00:12:43,500 --> 00:12:49,266
But like David, by God's grace in Christ,

244
00:12:49,266 --> 00:12:54,766
you are not nothing. You are God's dear

245
00:12:54,766 --> 00:12:56,033
child.

246
00:12:57,566 --> 00:13:01,966
You are one for whom God sent His Son.

247
00:13:01,966 --> 00:13:06,166
You are one purchased and won by the

248
00:13:06,166 --> 00:13:09,466
precious blood of Christ.

249
00:13:09,466 --> 00:13:15,833
By promises kept, by God's actions taken.

250
00:13:15,833 --> 00:13:21,733
You are one for whom Christ now reigns

251
00:13:21,733 --> 00:13:23,766
and rules.

252
00:13:26,533 --> 00:13:29,066
And so you and I and the whole Christian

253
00:13:29,066 --> 00:13:31,400
church like David, we live in hope,

254
00:13:33,300 --> 00:13:36,100
anticipation, expectation, anticipating

255
00:13:36,100 --> 00:13:38,433
the fullest filling of all of the

256
00:13:38,433 --> 00:13:39,800
promises of God.

257
00:13:41,833 --> 00:13:46,033
And while we wait, while we anticipate,

258
00:13:46,033 --> 00:13:50,433
we are invited to pray. We are invited to

259
00:13:50,433 --> 00:13:51,866
praise God

260
00:13:51,866 --> 00:13:54,366
for what He has done. We are invited to

261
00:13:54,366 --> 00:13:56,900
pray that he would bring about the very

262
00:13:56,900 --> 00:13:58,400
promises that He has

263
00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,500
made, sure and certain that He will do

264
00:14:01,500 --> 00:14:04,666
that very thing because of who He is,

265
00:14:05,766 --> 00:14:08,066
because of what He's already done,

266
00:14:08,066 --> 00:14:10,700
because of the promises He has made.

267
00:14:13,933 --> 00:14:17,866
We step into the Advent season again this

268
00:14:17,866 --> 00:14:21,500
week with all of its calm serenity, if

269
00:14:21,500 --> 00:14:22,266
only.

270
00:14:24,666 --> 00:14:29,266
The church here reminds us again to step

271
00:14:29,266 --> 00:14:34,266
back from the commercial Christmas chaos,

272
00:14:35,966 --> 00:14:38,766
to step back from the challenge of a

273
00:14:38,766 --> 00:14:41,666
semester coming to an end, and in the

274
00:14:41,666 --> 00:14:43,166
chaos and in the

275
00:14:43,166 --> 00:14:47,166
challenge to pray. Because of who God is

276
00:14:47,166 --> 00:14:51,033
and what He has done, our prayers arise

277
00:14:51,033 --> 00:14:52,633
in praise and

278
00:14:52,633 --> 00:14:56,600
thanks, praise and thanks for the first

279
00:14:56,600 --> 00:15:00,566
Advent of Jesus. Praise and thanks that

280
00:15:00,566 --> 00:15:02,700
He comes to us now

281
00:15:03,366 --> 00:15:07,066
in word and sacrament. We pray in

282
00:15:07,066 --> 00:15:11,233
confidence that He will come again,

283
00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:17,700
filling God's promises to the full. Come

284
00:15:17,700 --> 00:15:21,400
Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen.