David: an OT Foreshadowing of Grace

I’ve often been asked why I only write novels about the Old Testament (OT). (CLICK HERE to see all my books.) My answer is firmly rooted in how I came to faith in Jesus, so we can blame my husband! 😆 He’s the one who first explained to me that the Bible is one story, cover to cover.  He showed me the New Testament (NT) message of Grace through Jesus Christ in Genesis and promised to show me salvation’s Crimson Thread from Genesis to Revelation! (CLICK HERE to see my full personal testimony)

How Hubby Told the Bible’s Story:

God created a perfect garden and the perfect man and woman to tend it. The husband and wife were told they could eat from any tree except one. One day, Adam left Eve alone and Satan–disguised as a serpent–deceived her into mistrusting God. She disobeyed the Creator’s one rule, ate from the forbidden tree, and coaxed Adam to do the same. God confronted all three: Adam, Eve, and the serpent.

[To the serpent, He said:] “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

Though Adam and Eve sinned, God doled out punishment but also offered the hope of grace. Someday, Eve’s offspring would crush the head of the serpent’s offspring–after the serpent’s offspring struck the heel of Eve’s child.

Confused? Let’s put it in NT terms: FIRST, Satan struck Jesus’s heel with the crucifixion.

Heel strike = Jesus 100 % dead.

Three days later, Jesus’s Resurrection CRUSHED Satan’s head by freeing all those who believe that His death and resurrection were the perfect atonement for their sin (as fulfillment of Genesis 3:15)!

Satan’s head crushed = Jesus 100% alive.

Did Jesus die for those who deserved his sacrifice? Nope. He died because no matter how good we try to be, we could never deserve His love.

100% Jesus’s love = 100% GRACE!

So Where Is Jesus In the OT?

While researching biblical history and culture, I try to find three resources in agreement to help ensure reliability. In my research, most scholars agree “the angel of the LORD” refers to an OT human manifestation of Jesus. Whereas “an angel of the LORD” can refer to any angel God sends. My Bible software says the phrase “the angel of the Lord” occurs 280 times in the OT.

So, who in the OT actually SAW the angel of the LORD? This is only a quick list, so forgive me if your own research reveals that I’ve missed some!

1. Hagar (Gen. 16)
2. Abraham/Isaac (Gen. 22)
3. Moses (Ex. 3)
4. Balaam (Num.22)
5. all Israel (Judg. 2)
6. Gideon (Judg. 6)
7. Manoah (Samson’s father/mother – Judg. 13)
8. David (2 Sam. 24)
9. Elijah (1 Kings 19:7)
10. killed 185k of Assyrian soldiers during Hezekiah’s reign (2 Kings 19)

Significance of THE Angel With Abraham & Isaac

God told Abraham, Isaac’s father, to sacrifice him on Mount Moriah like a lamb. Abraham was obedient–as was Isaac. Both traveled a distance to Mount Moriah. Abraham bound his son, who was likely between 18-40 years old by then. Isaac would have crawled onto the stone altar. Abraham lifted his dagger… That’s when THE angel of the Lord stopped the whole thing!

“Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide.” Genesis 22:13–14

Again, we see wide agreement between scholars on the location of Mount Moriah and its significance to the story of the Bible as a WHOLE:

Mount Moriah is likely the same place David purchased the threshing floor to stop a plague from spreading.

Significance of THE Angel With David

Brave: The Story of Ahinoam is the first of a four-book series, King David’s Wives, that explores David’s rise to power through the eyes of his Hebron wives. David reigned in Hebron for his first seven years as king, then conquered the Jebusite’s impenetrable fortress of Jerusalem. After such a great victory, he fell into the trap that snares many successful people. He began relying on his own intellect and efforts to maintain the kingdom God had given him.

When he commanded General Joab to count the men in his army (proving his trust in the army to keep his people safe rather than Yahweh’s power to save them), Joab warned they shouldn’t count the soldiers. David insisted, and God disciplined His chosen king. He allowed David to choose between three punishments (2 Sam. 24:12-14): 3 years of famine; 3 months of fleeing enemies; or 3 days of a killing plague. David chose the plague, placing Israel in God’s merciful hands. When the plague reached Jerusalem, God relented and sent His messenger to David:

“On that day Gad went to David and said to him, ‘Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.’ So David went up, as the Lord had commanded through Gad.” 2 Samuel 24:18–19 (emphasis added)

The threshing floor of Araunah is thought to be the same plot of ground where Solomon built the Temple.

The Place of Sacrifice–and Grace

When God promised David to make his “house”–meaning his lineage–an eternal reign, David longed to build God a permanent “house” in return. But God refused to allow David to build His earthly Temple. God was and IS impressing on everyone who hears David’s story that GRACE began long before Jesus was born of a virgin in Bethlehem (David’s hometown).

Though God refused to allow David to build His “house,” He promised David something far more precious in return:

“When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you…He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men…But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” 2 Samuel 7:11–16

It was Solomon, whose birth name was Jedidiah–meaning, loved by the LORD (2 Sam. 12:24-25). Solomon was blessed by the LORD with greater wisdom than any ruler before or since, but he also sinned greatly against Yahweh. True to His promise, however, the LORD brought a “Son of David” to reign eternally–a King of Kings to save the world.

The Temple Mount is thought by some to be the same plot of ground where Jesus–the eternal Lamb of God–hung on a Cross.

Amazing Grace

When Jesus walked the earth as wholly Man and holy God, people were divided. Was He the “Son of David,” promised to save the Jews from earthly oppressors? Or was He a messenger of Beelzebul–like the Jewish leaders said–who drove out demons by the power of Beelzebul?

[Jesus answered] “If I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? …But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” Matthew 12:27–28

Ultimately, Jesus was born to die. Yes, it was the Jewish leaders who killed Him, but OT prophecy says the Jewish nation will receive the same grace Jesus gives us all–when they see Who He is…

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10 (emphasis added)

Below is one of my favorite renditions of the hymn, Amazing Grace. Brother Wintley Phipps is awesome!

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