The Song of Zion's King (Part 4 of 5)

Jesus’ Return to the Jews

Jesus comes to Jerusalem

In previous articles we have shown how the Song of Solomon may have been originally sung to celebrate the coronation of Solomon as God’s king – which was at the same time a symbolic marriage between God and His people Israel. We have shown how the Song carried in it references to a time of withdrawal, when the king had left his people because of their failure to open their doors to him.

We saw how both David and Solomon presented themselves to Jerusalem twice, and certainly on each second occasion rode into Jerusalem from the east, the way of the wilderness. (This may have been true also of the first occasions, but we have no sufficient record to prove this.)

We have shown how the Lord Jesus presented himself to Jerusalem as her king on the occasion when he rode into Zion on a colt, in fulfilment of Zechariah’s prophecy. Afterwards, he said,

“Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cameth in the name of the Lord”.

These words were, of course, the very words which the people shouted as he rode into the city. They were the words of the Passover psalm, hailing the Son of David as the true king of Jerusalem, yet a king who made sacrifice for and redeemed his people. Jesus’ words showed that he would not again present himself to Jerusalem until he rode into the city for a second time as a king acclaimed by his people. Thus in his lifetime on earth he looked .forward to this second presentation to Jerusalem.

The Type of David

We would like to look now at this second presentation of the Lord Jesus to Jerusalem from the point of view of his coming to the Israeli nation, according to the promise quoted in the last section. In this, we propose to follow the type of David’s second presentation to the city, after the rebellion of Absalom.

David was first crowned king in Jerusalem; and thus took the nation of Israel as his wife on behalf of God, being God’s chosen and anointed representative. But because of the seduction of the people of Jerusalem by Absalom, David fled from the city, leaving Absalom and other faithless rulers In control of the city. If the traitor Ahithophel had had his way, David would have perished alone, while all his people fled (see 2 Sam.17:1-3). The false rulers would then have triumphed. As it was, the counsel was disregar­ded, David did not die, and Ahithophel hanged himself. After an interval, David’s people fought a great battle in the Wood of Ephraim. Then the nation of Israel went to David (who was still in the east) to beg him to return to Jerusalem.

So David descended from the mountains of the east, and crossed the Jordan. From there a great company of Judah and Benjamin escorted the king to Jerusalem – an event marred by bickering between Judah and Israel.

In broad outline, the history of David’s greater Son follows the first part of this type. Jesus rode into Jerusalem as king, and was acclaimed by its people. But the false rulers seduced the people to reject their king; and Ahithophells counterpart, Judas, betrayed his master by giving the rulers advice on how they could seize Jesus alone. The second betrayal was more successful than the first; Jesus was taken alone, and killed, while his disciples fled.

But Jesus was redeemed from the grave (after the type of David rescued from death by crossing the Jordan), and left Jerusalem. Israel suffered under the hands of their rulers, until they were removed from God’s sight.

This rejection and removal of Israel forms a hiatus which is not seen in the history of David. For the purposes of the type we must leave out the long Gentile domination over Jerusalem, and begin again from the point where Israel, once more in the land, live under faithless rulers – while their true king remains absent.

Jesus’ Return to his City

Israel today are not God’s people, though they are to be received back as such in time. They are like Israel of old ruled by Absalom. Absalom must die in battle, and Israel intreat their Lord and King to return, before he will cross the Jordan and take his proper place as Zion’s king.

God has yet one more punishment for Israel. This punishment will come at the hand of the last invaders of the land, the power mentioned in Ezekiel 38, which for the’ purposes of this type stand as the armies of the rod of the Lord bringing Israel to her knees. The battle of the Wood of Ephraim must be refought, with unfaithful Israel defeated before Jesus’ armies, Gog and her allies. Then, and only then, will Israel turn and beseech her true king to return. And Jesus will return from the east, and a remant will receive him. Then he will turn and destroy those who do not want the Son of Jesse to rule over them. And, last of all, the Gentile hosts who acted as agents of God in the first place, but who in pride and cruelty oppressed beyond His desires, will be subdued in their turn (see 2 Sam.21:15-22)..

According to this type, we reason that Jesus remains in heaven, as it were in exile from his people, until the Russian hosts descend into the land and defeat Israel in battle. After this, the mercy of God still waits until the defeated remnant of Israel go into the wilderness and implore the Lord Jesus to return. It could be that they hear a call from Jesus himself, after the type of David’s call to Judah, “Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?” (2 Sam.19:12). Or, to use the words of the Song of Solomon, “Open to me, my sister, my love…” (Song 5:2). Then Israel will seek her king in the wilderness, to bring the king back over Jordan to Jerusalem with rejoicing. Jesus will then destroy his enemies, both the unfaithful in Israel, and the nations gathered with Gog in the land. This final defeat corresponds with the battle of Armageddon of the book of Revelation.

Summary

To summarise what we have said, looking at the type of David, but only from the Jewish angle, we see the following table of events shortly to take place in the Middle East:

  1. Jews in Jerusalem, ruled by false leaders who do not accept Jesus as their king.
  2. A descent by Russia and the armies of Europe on Israel, and the defeat of Israel’s army.
  3. A movement by faithful Jews left in the land to go into the wilder­ness to seek their king. Whether this is a literal, or a spiritual journey I am not certain.
  4. A joyful return to Jerusalem by these, with their King, and David’s Son crowned again in Jerusalem as king on David’s throne.
  5. A battle against unfaithful Jews, maybe some who have become quislings under the Russians, and then the defeat at Armageddon of the Gentile enemies.
  6. The Kingdom of God established.

So the Song of Zion’s King will be sung once more by Israel, as she accompanies her King into her city as a bride taken by the Son of God as his wife.

I have followed this type through with reference only to Israel; but I believe that the same type applies also to the Gentile “Israel of God”, the Church of Christ which had spanned the ages between the sack of Jerusalem and its retaking in our day by the Israelis. This aspect I propose to deal with in the next two issues.