Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Sunday, November 21, 2010
Solemnity: Christ the King
From: 2 Samuel 5:1-3
David is Anointed King of Israel at Hebron
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[1] Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Behold, we
are your bone and flesh. [2] In times past, when Saul was king over us. it was
you that led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord said to you, 'You shall be
shepherd of my people Israel, and you shall be prince over Israel.'" [3] So all
the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a cove-
nant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over
Israel.
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Commentary:
5:1-5. David's consecration as king of Israel is told quite simply but the account
emphasizes details of primary importance in salvation history: the tribes of the
North and the South are all brothers: "we are your flesh and bone" (v. 1); the ima-
ges of the shepherd (v. 2), David's original profession, conveys the notion of a ru-
ler and king who governs not for his own advantage but for the welfare of his sub-
jects; David's covenant with the leaders (v. 3) is in line with the general doctrine
of covenant which is the basis of God's relations with his people, and of those
between Israelite and Israelite; the figures given for David's reigns (seven as king
of Judah, forty as king of Judah and Israel) are symbols of plenitude. Even in the
New Testament the numbers seven and forty have the same connotation (cf. Mt
4:2; 18:22; Rev 1:11; Acts 4:22; etc.). Hebron, the place where David was also
anointed king of Judah, was the main city of the South; within it was the cave of
Mach-pelah (cf. Gen 25:9) and close to it was the sacred oak of Mamre. How-
ever, it was replaced by Jerusalem perhaps to show that a new kingdom warran-
ted a new royal base.
David is a figure of Jesus Christ on many counts, but they all derive from the fact
that he is king: Jesus Christ, too will be acclaimed King of Israel. "But what did
it mean for the Lord to be acclaimed the King of Israel? What did it mean to the
King of all ages to be recognized as the king of men? Christ did not become the
King of Israel in order to demand tributes or to raise armies and make war against
the enemies [of Israel]; he became the King of Israel to reign over souls, to give
counsel that leads to eternal life, to bring those who were filled with faith, hope
and Love to the Kingdom of heaven" (St Augustine, "In loannis Evangelium", 51,
4).
The liturgy of the Church uses this passage from the hook of Samuel for the so-
lemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, together with the passage a-
bout the crucifixion (Lk 23:35-43). Jesus won his kingdom through his obedience,
which has its climax in death on the cross, bringing about the definitive salvation
of all mankind.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States. We encourage readers to purchase
The Navarre Bible for personal study. See Scepter Publishers for details.
"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St Jerome
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"The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever
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-- St John of the Cross
