Forever!

December 24, 2022 - Saturday, 4th Week of Advent

Psalm 89:2-3, 4-5, 27 and 29

As we listen to the fragment of psalm 89, we are immediately struck by the word, “forever”. The first time it appears in the promise of the psalmist: “The favors of the LORD I will sing forever” (Ps 89:2). Then, it appears in the quotes of God’s promise to David recorded in the second book of Samuel (2 Sam 7:11-16). 

It is not without reason that the psalmist quotes the words of the Lord not without reason. The biblical scholars date this psalm to the time of Babylonian exile in the 6th century before Christ. The nation has lost its independence and no more kings were sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem. What happened then to God’s promise given to David? What happened to God’s steadfast love and faithfulness? 

The psalmist quotes God saying: “Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him, and my covenant with him stands firm” (Ps 89:29). In the history of salvation, we usually speak of five covenants: four in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. The four in the Old Testament were: the covenant between God and Noah representing the entire humanity (see Gen 9:8-17); the covenant between God and Abraham (see Gen 15:18); the covenant between God and Israel at Mount Sinai (see Ex 24:1-11), and the covenant between God and David (see 2 Sam 7:1-16). Moreover, the covenant with David was understood as “an everlasting covenant” (2 Sam 23:5). And yet, the historical reality seemed to show that it was not so. What about God’s promise then?

Although from the year 586 BC, no more Davidic king was sitting on the throne of David in Jerusalem, the line of David did not disappear. Jesus’ genealogies in Matthew and Luke trace the connection between David and Jesus. Moreover, the description of Jesus as “a Natzorean” (see Matt 2:23) links him with the prophecy of Isaiah about the shoot - “netzer” - “from the stump of Jesse” (Is 11:1). Even the name “Nazareth”, the village where Jesus grew up, seems to be derived from the same prophecy of Isaiah. Some scholars indicate that the name came from a group of the Davidic Natzorean clan that settled there in the 2nd century before Christ (Bargil Pixner, Fifth Gospel, p. 17). 

Tonight, we are going to sing about God’s steadfast love and faithfulness. The promise given centuries ago to David as “an everlasting covenant” is fulfilled on Christmas Night. Jesus of Nazareth, “the shoot from the stump of Jesse” (Is 11:1) is born in Bethlehem, the city of David.