24 December 2022

But that same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the Lord: Are you the one to build me a house to live in? Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the Lord of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel; and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 

From 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 8-12,14,16, NRSV

King David had proposed building a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. God, however, had different plans and instructed the prophet Nathan to tell David that he did not require him to build such a temple. In fact, it was God who was to build a house for David. This was not to be a physical house but a dynasty that would last forever. Since there had never been a king succeeded by his son in Israel this was a remarkable promise. The Hebrew scriptures continually prophesied that the Messiah would come from the House of David and the ancestry of Joseph (of David’s line) was a vital link in that chain. The courageous faith shown by Joseph in accepting Mary as his wife ensured that God’s promise to David could be fulfilled in the person of Jesus.

• • What do you think David understood from this prophecy?
  • What does God’s promise to David mean for us?

Spend some time in reflection on how God prepared the world for Christ’s birth.