A Most Intimate Tiny House for God through Jesus

David's Royal Descendants

(1 Chronicles 3:10-14, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, June 18, 2017)

[10] The son of Solomon was Rehoboam, Abijah his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son, [11] Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son, [12] Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son, [13] Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son, [14] Amon his son, Josiah his son.

Solomon

It was a great desire of the Chronicler and the returning exiles to see the line of David reestablished with a descendant of David reigning again in Jerusalem. God had promised to bring forth an eternal King from this line who would rule over an everlasting kingdom. The legal line of kings that would lead to the Messiah would go through David's son, Solomon.

Evaluating people is not an easy endeavor. Evaluating those who have been used powerfully by God in an evil world is even harder. Ultimately we must leave it to God, although we need discernment in our relationships with others. When Jesus was called “good teacher” by someone in His day, He responded, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mark 10:18) Paul also wrote about the universal iniquity of mankind quoting Psalm 14:1 saying, “No one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:12)

Solomon was a great man, but Psalm 14:1 applied to him as well. He was associated with wisdom, riches, and the great accomplishment of building the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Isaiah commented on the seeming absurdity of a man building a house for God many years later, echoing statements God made to David and that Solomon made to the Almighty in Isaiah 66:1-2,

[1] Thus says the LORD:

“Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool;

what is the house that you would build for me,

and what is the place of my rest?

[2] All these things my hand has made,

and so all these things came to be,

declares the LORD.

But this is the one to whom I will look:

he who is humble and contrite in spirit

and trembles at my word.

Though David wanted to build a house for God, and Solomon would actually do so, God had something for more glorious in mind. He intended to build up the “house” of David, a royal dynasty that would lead to the Son of God taking up residence in the tiny house of the womb of a Hebrew virgin, Mary. Now the resurrected Jesus abides by His Spirit in the tiny house of the humble souls who tremble at His Word, and they are sons of God in the household of faith.

Josiah

If we may use the word “good” to describe someone other than God—and the books of Old Testament history do so—then we are happy to acknowledge that God's legal line that led to the one perfectly good King of the Jews, Jesus, had several good kings. Solomon was one of them near the very beginning. Josiah was another, coming almost at the very end of the time when Hebrew kings reigned in Jerusalem.

Josiah's name is also associated with the temple. By the days of Josiah, Solomon's temple needed significant repair. The young king ordered that the project be completed. In the process, the Book of the Law was rediscovered and eventually brought to Josiah.

What would the king's reaction be to the Word of God which so plainly explained the consequences of disobedience against Jehovah, thus identifying why the Lord's people were in such significant trouble? God spoke directly to Josiah through a prophetess in Jerusalem as we learn in 2 Chronicles 34:26-28

[26] Regarding the words that you have heard, [27] because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard his words against this place and its inhabitants, and you have humbled yourself before me and have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. [28] Behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place and its inhabitants.

From Solomon to Josiah

In between Solomon and Josiah there were a few bright spots among the sinful men that sat on the throne of David in Jerusalem. The good kings tend to be associated with David and David's God. These included Jehoshaphat and Hezekiah. The bad kings tend to be associated with Ahab and the kings of Israel. Among these were Jehoram, Ahaziah, Ahaz, and Amon. Jehoram was the first of these truly awful kings. He reigned for eight years, and we are told that “he departed with no one's regret.” The largest group of kings fall in the hard to say category, including Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah, Jotham, and Manasseh. Among these we have some that started out good but finished poorly. Others started poorly, but finished with repentance. Still others were more ambiguous in their faithfulness to the Lord over the course of their reigns.

King of the Jews and Ruler over a Resurrection World of Everlasting Truth and Peace

The story of the kings of Judah from Solomon to Josiah is very engaging, but ultimately unsatisfying. None of these men, even the greatest among them, could defeat sin and death for us. The promise of God would require a far better Son of David who would be the King of the Jews and the Prince of Eternal Peace. Only Jesus could save the day!

Our acceptance is entirely because of our association with Jesus. After He rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven to prepare a house for us. Until then He has taken up His residence permanently in the tiny house of our souls.

Do be discerning in your relationship with others, especially with the rich and famous, but don't waste too much time judging other people. Most importantly, what do you say about Jesus? Will you have a tender heart regarding His Word? Many people found Jesus hard to evaluate in His day, but we don't have to go on our own assessment of Him. God spoke from heaven with an audible voice, and most convincingly, with the Scriptures and a resurrection from the dead. And what does David confess? “He rescued me because He delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:19)

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 18 – He rescued me because He delighted in me.

Gospel Reading—Matthew 7:28-29 – [28] And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, [29] for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.