“When you saw that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ although the LORD your God was your king. ‘Now therefore, here is the king whom you have chosen, whom you have asked for, and behold, the LORD has set a king over you'” (1 Sam 12:12-13).

Samuel’s speech highlights a theological dilemma which can only be solved through the incarnation of Israel’s Messiah. For by choosing an earthly king, Israel has rejected the LORD as their King. Imbedded in God’s promise to David, therefore, is the solution to the “God or man as king” dilemma. The Messiah will not only be the son of David, he will also be the Son of God (2 Sam 7:14). And lest we think the title “son” as only a title of honor rather than an ontological truth (i.e., the Messiah is actually the eternal Son of God in his being), the prophets assure us that the Messianic son of David will also be Immanuel (Isa 7:14), the Mighty God (Isa 9:6[5], and worshipped by every tribe, tongue, and nation (Psalm 2:7, 12; 45:17[18]; Dan 7:13-14).

So in response to Israel’s sinful choice in 1 Samuel 12, God not only allows Israel to reap the consequences of their poor choice, but also lovingly and graciously provides this solution! And on that day when Yeshua comes to Jerusalem again, the LORD and the heir to David’s throne will indeed be king over all his people.

“In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south…. And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one” (Zech 14:4, 9).