City of David

December 24, 2018

The Savior is born (Lk 2:11-2:11)

“To you

Is born

This day,

In the city

Of David,

A Savior.

He is the Christ,

The Messiah,

The Lord.”

 

ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον Σωτήρ, ὅς ἐστιν Χριστὸς Κύριος, ἐν πόλει Δαυείδ.

 

Luke then explained what the good news or the gospel proclamation was all about.  A savior was born for them that day (ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον Σωτήρ) in the city of David (ἐν πόλει Δαυείδ).  As they were on the outskirts of Bethlehem, they knew where the city of David was.  This savior was the Christ (ὅς ἐστιν Χριστὸς), the Messiah, the Lord (Κύριος).  Luke listed all the names that would be applied to Jesus.  He was a savior, someone who would protect Israel.  He was the Christ, the anointed one of God.  He was the Messiah, the expected liberator of his people, the Israelites.  He was the Lord, God, truly divine.  This baby Jesus would be all these things rolled up into one.  This was really big news.

 

December 23, 2018

Joseph goes to Bethlehem (Lk 2:4-2:4)

“Joseph also went

From the town

Of Nazareth,

In Galilee,

To Judea.

He went

To the city

Of David,

Called Bethlehem,

Because he was

Descended

From the house

And family

Of David.”

 

Ἀνέβη δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ πόλεως Ναζαρὲθ εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν εἰς πόλιν Δαυεὶδ ἥτις καλεῖται Βηθλεέμ, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐξ οἴκου καὶ πατριᾶς Δαυείδ,

 

Luke clearly indicated why Joseph went (Ἀνέβη δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ) from the town of Nazareth, in Galilee (ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ πόλεως Ναζαρὲθ), to Judea (εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν).  He went to the city of David (εἰς πόλιν Δαυεὶδ), that is called Bethlehem (ἥτις καλεῖται Βηθλεέμ), because he was descended from the house (διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐξ οἴκου) and family of David (καὶ πατριᾶς Δαυείδ).  Luke never mentioned King Herod like Matthew, chapter 2:1.  However, both Matthew and Luke agreed on the place of Bethlehem, in the territory of Judah, about 5-6 miles south of Jerusalem, with a current population of about 25,000 in present day Palestinian territory.  They also both agreed that Joseph was a descendant of King David, from Bethlehem.  Matthew had first mentioned Joseph in chapter 1:27 as the engaged partner of Mary.  The Messiah had been predicted to be from Bethlehem as in Micah, chapter 5:2.  Matthew, chapter 2:5-6, had the Jewish priests and scribes tell King Herod that the place for the birth of this new king had to be Bethlehem in Judea.  The prophet Micah, had written this ode about the small town of Bethlehem, where King David came from.  Obviously, this new ruler of Israel would be from this same place and be also part of the Davidic bloodline.  Matthew and Luke made the clear connection between David, Bethlehem, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  However, Luke, unlike Matthew had very little information about Joseph.

August 4, 2016

Preparations for the invasion (Isa 22:8-22:11)

“On that day,

You looked

To the weapons

Of the House of the Forest.

You saw

That there were so many breaches

In the city of David.

You then collected

The waters of the lower pool.

You counted

The houses of Jerusalem.

You broke down the houses

To fortify the wall.

You made a reservoir

Between the two walls

To hold the water of the old pool.

But you did not look

To him who did it.

You did not have regard

For him who planned it long ago.”

Isaiah now reprimands the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the second person plural. They made preparations to protect Jerusalem from invaders. The weapons were in the House of the Forest, which was the royal palace, since it had so much wood in it. The city of David was the older southeastern part of Jerusalem. They tried to fix the holes in the wall around Jerusalem by tearing down houses in the city to fill the holes. They also tried to make a reservoir for the water within the city from the old pool. Isaiah points out that there was a fatal flaw to their preparations. They forgot to consider who had made the city for them, God. They did not regard Yahweh who had planned this city with King David and King Solomon. They had forgotten the Lord.

May 6, 2015

The meeting of Nicanor and Judas (1 Macc 7:29-7:32)

“Nicanor came to Judas. They greeted one another peaceably. However, the enemy was preparing to seize Judas. It became known to Judas that Nicanor had come to him with a treacherous intent. Judas was afraid of him and would not meet him again. When Nicanor learned that his plan had been disclosed, he went out to meet Judas in battle near Caphar-salama. About five hundred men of the army of Nicanor fell. The rest fled into the city of David.”

Nicanor met Judas peacefully. They were about to seize Judas at a second meeting, when Judas found out about it. Once there was no second peaceful meeting, a battle broke out near Caphar-salama, about 5 miles northeast of Jerusalem. Judas and his men killed 500 of the army of Nicanor. The rest fled to the city of David, Jerusalem, since Judas and his group controlled the countryside.

February 8, 2015

The east Fountain Gate (Neh 3:15-3:15)

“Shallum the son of Col-hozeh, ruler of the district of Mizpah, repaired the Fountain Gate. He rebuilt it. He covered it, set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. He built the wall of the Pool of Shelah of the king’s garden, as far as the stairs that go down from the City of David.”

Now we are dealing with the southeast side of Jerusalem. Only one person is mentioned here Shallum. This Shallum is a different person from the one mentioned a few verses earlier, who was the half ruler of Jerusalem. This Shallum is the ruler of Mizpah, which was not far from Jerusalem. The Fountain Gate was near the pool, the king’s garden, and the stairs that lead up to the city of David, near the royal cemetery and David’s palace. All of this was on the southeast side of Jerusalem.

November 22, 2014

King David prepares for the transport of the ark (1 Chr 15:1-15:2)

“King David built houses for himself in the city of David. He prepared a place for the ark of God. He pitched a tent for it. Then King David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God. Yahweh had chosen them to carry the ark of Yahweh and to minister to him forever.”

King David built his own houses in Jerusalem. He built more than one house for himself, notice the plural houses. The biblical author already called it the City of David. He was going to put the Ark of the Covenant in a tent. King David also declared that only the Levites could carry the Ark of God, as it is referred to. This was an emphasis on the Levites as opposed to priests. Once again, this biblical author showed his preference for the Levites, who at his time dominated, but did not at the time of King David.