David

Hosannah to David’s son

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David is an Old Testament figure and his sons are the kings of Judah with rare exception.  Still his progeny are mentioned twice as often in the New Testament period, a time when Judah had no Davidide monarchs. People in New Testament times are beside themselves in expectation of and reverence for a son of David. He turns out to be neither king in the normal sense, nor prophet, nor priest, but a sacrificial lamb.

God’s kingdom and civic obligations

24) When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?” 25) He said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26) When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are exempt.” (Matthew 17:24-26, NASB)

This deliberation ended with Yeshua and Peter paying the toll, to avoid scandal.

Yahweh and David’s son

Solomon should come to mind due to his distinct reputation as successor of David. He was responsible for bringing David’s dream to reality, and yet he devastated the Davidide standard by worshipping other gods. When Christ said “Someone greater than Solomon is here” oppressed persons were already appealing to Him for mercy and calling him “Lord”.

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord”

Matthew 9:27-28, NASB

Neither Solomon nor the temple and its administration should come to mind after Christ displays the mercy that makes blind persons (not necessarily males) see. This approach to David’s son continued.

And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” (Matthew 20:30, NASB)

Receiving the king with highest praise

Mounted on donkey, riding into Zion, the word of God comes to pass. The highest praise possible concerns a saving king, not a levitical priest or prophet. The crowds and the children were not shouting “hallelujah” but “hosannah”, and not to Moses.

The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9, NASB)

Redemption out of dire circumstances

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Ruth 4:22

And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

The conclusion of Ruth’s story (4:22) might leave some people wondering, a huge “So!” filling the thoughtscape. A famine brings a Jewish family to Moab, a land that was no friend of the seed of Isaac and Jacob. Emigration seems to mark every important development towards the unveiling of global salvation. Some of us can pretend we do not see how abominable a racist and homicidal immigration policy is and always was, there is a malingering nod to dire circumstances that open up our most treasured encounters.

Ventilators for the dying

Ruth’s story belongs with the Joseph legacy. We remember that a hated teenager was forced into a new land and from there became the instrument of keeping the Jacob-Israel clan alive, and kept the promise of land and national identity on everyone’s mind. Ruth is no patriarch. She is a matriarch of unparalleled majesty. She left Israel to bring back the woman and the womb that God wanted to separate a household for Christ to be born.

A resurrection is in the mix

Ruth 4:5
Property:
Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

Ruth 4:10
Marriage
Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

Stance for this circumstance

In our 2020 first quarter circumstance we see homicide-by-virus bringing the planet to a new level of terror and interpersonal abuse. Fear has been the preferred tool of people carving out religious and politics space for superiority. Our love, that supreme gift, will not allow us to take a dive into the animalistic pools where everything despicable seems to collect. Let us avoid the rumours of war and peace. When the most disturbing events in the time of unprecedented trouble begin to occur we stand resolute on the promise of redemption. Catch up with David’s son!