This Book - Hands to the Plow

his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he
commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the
sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul,
whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made
sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” 2 Samuel 7:8-16
The New Testament writers go to great lengths to demonstrate that Jesus is the king to whom
these verses in 2 Samuel refer. The first verse of the New Testament indicates that Jesus is “the son
of David” (Matthew 1:1). Near the end of the final chapter in the New Testament, Jesus declares
that he is “the root and the descendant of David” (Revelation 22:16). In between these verses,
the New Testament writers carefully and consistently point to Jesus as the Son of David, God’s
appointed eternal king.
The angel Gabriel announced Jesus’ birth with the following words:
“He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will
give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob
forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Luke 1:32-33
The wise men came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”
(Matthew 2:2a). They are told to go to Bethlehem, because, as the prophet Micah wrote in Micah
5:2, “from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel” (Matthew 2:6). Jesus, we
learn here, is Israel’s ruler. He is the one who will shepherd her.
People stopped Jesus in the streets, calling him the “Son of David” (Matthew 9:27). The children
shouted in the temple “Hosanna to the Son of David!” (Matthew 21:15). Every time he was called
by this name, it accented that he is the one who would fulfill the promise given to David. Jesus
was also called “the Son of God”. This, like the designation “Son of David”, harkens back to the
prophecy in 2 Samuel 7, for Yahweh said, regarding this future king, “he shall be to me a son” (2
Samuel 7:14).
Jesus, not David, is the one to whom Hosea 3:5 refers. But when would the children of Israel come
to Jesus their king? Hosea 3:5 indicates that this would happen “in the latter days”. At first glance,
these words may seem to suggest that this is something that takes place sometime in the future.
In other words, these days are still coming. But this isn’t necessarily so. What was future to Hosea
and his immediate audience isn’t necessarily future to readers of Hosea in the 21st century. As we
can’t be certain when “the latter days” are based on Hosea alone, we would be wise to consider
how the phrase “in the latter days” (or phrases like it) is used in the New Testament.
In Acts 2:17, Peter, in speaking about the events that took place on the day of Pentecost, quotes
from the prophet Joel, indicating that Joel’s prophecy had been fulfilled by the events that took
place that morning. Notice, particularly, the beginning of Peter’s quotation:
“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all
flesh ...” Acts 2:17a
Peter says that this prophesied event—something that was to take place in “the last days”—had
occurred that very morning. In other words, a “last days’” event happened nearly 2,000 years ago!
Or consider the following verses:
Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for
our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 1 Corinthians 10:11
Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the
prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed
the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Hebrews 1:1-2
WeeK six
Hosea 3
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