“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” (Revelation 22:16)

Understanding the connection between Jesus and the beloved David is crucial to fully grasping the whole redemption story. Like a perfect novel, the divine plan of the ages is more than a simple message of God rescuing us from sin. The way He did it brings Him amazing glory! Reading the entire Bible reveals the grand themes that sometimes seem vague in the details but in the end prove to be woven together in intricate detail. Repeated readings, continually bring out the details that wonderfully fill out the whole.

When we read a classic literary novel for the first time, we enjoy the story line, often with the various sub-plots finally coming to resolution at the end. The better stories beg to be re-read, but now with a picture of the whole, in order to re-examine and appreciate how the author has brought in the individual details. Sometimes we overlook a detail in the prose upon first reading, but appreciate it for its surprising significance during subsequent readings.

So it is with the Word of God, only infinitely more so. The more we study it, the more we see the details portraying the magnificent glory of God. And that is what the story is ultimately all about. As wonderful as salvation is to us, the greater message of the Bible is God’s glory as the Author of Life.

So here we find at the very end of the Bible, the last chapter of the Book of the Revelation, a swing back to the historical person of King David, the man whom God called “a man after My own heart” (1 Sam 13:14, Acts 13:22). As interesting as that insight is, we could extol David as an example of the kind of character to which we should aspire. True as the application of the story may be, David is far more than just as an example to us. In the larger story line, as God brings together all the strands of the many biblical stories, we hear Jesus identifying with David. God’s work in and through the life of David did not end when David died but was fulfilled in Christ, who said, “I am the root and descendant of David.” We see what God really meant when He told David, “I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam 7:13). A promise made around 3,000 years ago is the beginning of a golden thread, so to speak, that weaves through biblical history and finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ. He will return as the “Root and descendant of David”!

Lord, I rest in the trustworthiness of Your promises. And I look forward to the ultimate King David to come, the Lord Jesus Christ.