Week Five

As the people of God made their way into the Promised Land, they looked around at all the nations and realized they were different in one clear way.  The other nations had a king and they did not.  They rejected God as their sole Leader and wanted to be like the people around them (1 Samuel 8:5).

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Israel’s first king, Saul, had a short-lived dynasty.  While his reign spiraled downward, God sent Samuel to the house of Jesse in the line of Judah for their next king, David.  During the first seven or so years of David’s reign, he conquered Jerusalem and sought to build a temple as a permanent place to honor God and to worship.  But God had an even bigger plan than David could have ever imagined.  David may have been seeking to build a house where people in Israel could worship, but God wanted a house for all the nations to worship, where David’s line would reign forever.  David would not be the one to build the temple, but God promised that He would build a house for David and establish his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:11-13).  Solomon, David’s son, was the one who would build the temple.  During the reigns of David and Solomon, the people of God experienced some of the greatest successes and blessings on the outside, but their inward hearts were still marred by sin.

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The influence of sin is shown in the fact that after Solomon, only 8 out of 36 kings followed the Lord.  While the Kings led the people into sin, and God’s judgment ultimately led the Israelites into exile, God raised up prophets to point forward to the definitive solution to sin.  Isaiah was one such prophet.  He would declare that Israel and the surrounding nations had sinned.  They had been like lost sheep who had gone astray (just as we have).  Therefore, God would send His Son, Jesus Christ, to fully and finally pay the penalty for sin.  As you read these passages, look with faith to Christ, who has died for us to have life with God right now and forever!

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Matt Morvay

Pastor of Adult Ministries and Connections