On the Road to Bethlehem #7: God’s Messiah

"The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces;
against them He will thunder in heaven.
The LORD will judge the ends of the earth;
He will give strength to His king
and exalt the power of His anointed."

—1 Samuel 2:10

The clues on the road to Bethlehem are obvious to those who are of faith. Concluding the period of the judges and before the establishment of the Davidic monarchy, the prophet Samuel was born, who was to be the last of the judges and the one through whom God would institute the first kingship in Israel. The son of Elkanah and Hannah, Samuel was the answer to Hannah’s prayer recorded in 1 Samuel 1:10-18. She was barren and desperate for a child, offering to dedicate the child of her prayer to the Lord’s service for the duration of his life (1 Samuel 1:11). After she conceives and Samuel is born, she brings Samuel to the tabernacle to dedicate him to the Lord’s work. Upon her arrival, she offered a prayer for her son, which has become known as “Hannah’s Song” (1 Samuel 2:1-10). Her “song” is part prayer, praise and prophecy.

Hannah’s song is a prayer of praise to the Lord, praising Him for His victory over His enemies (v. 1, 9), and for His holiness (v. 2), His knowledge (v. 3), His judgments (v. 3, 10), His provision (v. 5), His protection (v. 9), His sovereignty (v. 6-8), and the futility of fighting against Him (v. 1, 3, 4, 9). It is not until verse 10 that there is a Messianic element introduced. After describing God’s victory over adversaries, she mentions that He will exercise worldwide judgment and will give strength to His King. Who is the King? At the time of Hannah’s song, Israel was not yet endowed with a king. Who is Hannah referring to? Who is this king? Parallel to this king is the promise of exalting the power of “His anointed.” Who is “His anointed”? “His anointed” is a translation of the word mashiakh, which means “anointed.” But the literal meaning is “messiah” and this is the first time the term appears in Holy Scripture. While a form of the word is used in various places of the Old Testament, it is usually used in reference to priests (e.g., Leviticus 4:3), but in Samuel most references relate to royalty. While many commentators see this as referring to the coming of David to the throne of Israel, the reference to “judge the ends of the earth” is much more extensive than David’s reign. It must be what scholars call “inaugurated eschatology” which means that there is both a “now” and a “not yet” element to Hannah’s prophecy. David then would be the first step (the “now”) in what would culminate in and through Jesus (the “not yet”). David would be anointed by God to be king, but Jesus would be the ultimate King who would be God’s Messiah, and judge of the entire earth!

How great is our God! He has sown the seeds of His Messiah throughout the Old Testament, which grew to fruition in the person of Christ. May we fall in worship of Jesus, our true King, Messiah, and Savior! He is the Lord of all creation and the judge of all the earth and the one who is our hearts’ desire! Amen.