He Gave Us Prophets: Unfolding EschatologySample

 Early Prophetic Concern for David’s Throne: Jeremiah 23:5-6   

A major covenant event took place between Moses and the early prophets, and this covenant was, of course, the Royal Covenant made with David. As a result, the early prophets made three major additions to Moses’ portrait of early eschatology, or end times. 

Unlike Moses, the early prophets did not merely say that the nation would suffer defeat and natural disasters. Because David’s throne had become the centerpiece of the life of God’s people, according to these prophets, the judgment of God would include a desertion of the throne of David. For instance, we read about the judgment against David’s throne when Isaiah rebuked king Hezekiah in Isaiah 39:5-7. 

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord Almighty: The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord. And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

The desertion of David’s throne was one aspect of the exile that culminated the history of God’s people. 

Despite the tragedy of judgment against David’s throne, the prophets also assured Israel that God was not finished with the throne of David. Instead, the prophets predicted that the restoration of Israel after the exile would include a restoration of the throne of David to great glory. Consider the way Jeremiah described the restoration of David’s throne in Jeremiah 23:5-6: 

“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days, Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord Our Righteousness.’” 

The promise of a righteous son of David became an essential ingredient in the portrait of the latter days of the restoration.