David's Offspring

“When your days are complete and you lie with your forefathers, I shall raise up after you your offspring who will issue from your loins, and I shall make his kingdom firm. He shall build a Temple for My sake, and I shall make firm the throne of his kingdom forever. I shall be a Father unto him and he shall be a son unto Me, so that when he sins I will chastise him with the rod of men and with afflictions of human beings. But My kindness will not be removed from him as I removed [it] from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your dynasty and your kingdom will remain steadfast before you for all time; your throne will remain firm forever. (2 Samuel 7:12-16)”

HASHEM will establish Solomon on the throne after David and he will build a Temple for HASHEM. The throne will belong to Solomon’s descendants forever. He will love Solomon as a Father loves a son by disciplining him when he sins, but He will never remove the kingdom from him.

Many Christians believe that the offspring in this passage is the man they worship. Christian doctrine teaches that their deity is without sin, blameless and perfect.  It is clear that this passage would not be compatible with this Christian idea, since HASHEM says, “…so that when he sins I will chastise him…” This incongruity would destroy the central tenant of Christian beliefs if applied to their deity, because, their whole religion falls apart if their deity sins.

Nevertheless, Christians maintain that the son of G-d in this passage refers to their deity, even though he was never king, failed to sit on the throne and didn’t build the Temple. They claim he will return to complete these things at some unspecified future date, ignoring the difficulty created by their unsubstantiated reasoning. Obviously, since none of the prophecies were fulfilled, nothing can be proved.

In addition to the unmistakable lack of prophetic fulfillment, Christians misconstrue the phrase, “son of G-d", thinking it indicates divinity. This phrase is repeatedly used in the Hebrew Bible as a term of endearment to signify HASHEM's close relationship with those He loves, never implying divine origin. The whole nation of Israel is called G-d’s ‘firstborn son’ in Exodus 4:22. Both David and Solomon merit this affection. Solomon is the son in this passage, who builds the Temple.

Many Christians also become confused by the promise of HASHEM to “make firm the throne of [Solomon’s] kingdom forever.” They mistake it to predict a king who will be on the throne forever, when in fact it reaffirms the promise given to King David that his throne and kingly line will remain forever, never to be handed over to another. The prophecy of Jacob about Judah is fulfilled through the house of David.