By Dave Wyant
And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord God; and You have also spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?
Have you ever been involved in a discussion about how people who lived during Old Testament times received eternal life? If so, then you know that there is a lot of confusion surrounding this topic. Maybe you, yourself, wonder how people in Old Testament times received everlasting life. The Bible clearly teaches that eternal salvation is by faith in a Person—Jesus Christ, for the promise—eternal life (1 Tim 1:16). However, I encounter many people—some in ministry— who still think that those who lived during Old Testament times had to convert to Judaism and keep the Mosaic Law to have eternal life. After all, weren’t the Jews God’s chosen people? Doesn’t that mean that the people who lived then had to convert to Judaism to receive eternal salvation?
We know from Gen 3:15 and 15:6 that even in the Old Testament, justification was by faith in the coming Messiah, not by works.
We also know that Jesus’ evangelistic ministry occurred during the dispensation of the Law of Moses. The Church was not born until Acts 2. The Gospel of John tells us that Old Testament people were born again by believing in Jesus for the gift of God, everlasting life (John 3:16; 4:10; 5:24).
I believe that an obscure OT verse teaches that regeneration is by faith in Messiah, apart from works. The verse is 2 Sam 7:19. King David made a statement showing that the saving message is universal for all humanity throughout all time. Believing in the Person for the promise is the only way that anyone in any period of human history has been eternally saved.
The historical context of 2 Samuel 7 is that the Lord had provided peace and prosperity for the nation of Israel through King David. After David finished building his palace, he expressed a desire to build a house for the Lord (vv 1-3). However, through the Prophet Nathan, the Lord said that David would not build a house for Him (vv 4-7). Instead, the Lord promised to build a house for David. That house would be a dynasty consisting of an eternal throne occupied by an eternal King reigning over an eternal kingdom (vv 8-17). David responded to the Lord’s gracious promise in humble prayer (vv 18-29).
In his prayer, David made an enigmatic statement that comes in a clause at the end of v 19. This clause has proven difficult for translators, as exhibited by the wide variety of ways it has been translated. The NIV translates the clause as a statement of fact: “and this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human!” The RSV renders the clause: “and hast shown me future generations, O Lord God!” The NRSV interprets it as an imperative: “May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God!” The NKJV turns David’s statement into a rhetorical question: “Is this the manner of man, O Lord God?” These translations have vastly different meanings and represent only a small sample of the multitude of interpretations found in the English versions.
The Hebrew text in question consists of just five words: “wezōth tōrah hā’ādam ‘ādōnay yhwh.” A literal translation of this clause reads: “and this is the law of man, Lord Yahweh” (author’s translation). The phrase that has caused so much difficulty consists of just two words, “tōrah hā’ādam,” literally, “the law of man.” Although the Hebrew word torah simply means “law,” “teaching,” or “instruction,” the NIV84 translates this one word with an entire clause: “your usual way of dealing with.” This rendering uses six English words to translate one Hebrew noun, torah. Many modern English translations do the same thing.
The noun torah is derived from the verb yarah, meaning “to teach, instruct.” The Hebrew dictionary defines yarah as teaching “in the sense of stretching out the finger, or the hand, to point out a route.”i Thus, the torah, “teaching,” is a law or a body of instruction that points the way or gives direction. For the Nation of Israel, the Torah was the codified law that established the nation as a political entity. We might think of the Torah as Israel’s constitution, or charter. Thus, torah can be understood as a “law” or a body of “instruction” in the sense of a “constitution,” “outline,” or “charter.” In fact, this is exactly how the International Standard Version translates torah in this verse: “and this is the charter for mankind, O Lord God!” Thus, in v 19b, David referred to a “charter.” This raises the question: What is this “law” or “charter”?
Whatever this charter is, it cannot be referring to the Mosaic Law, which was the constitution exclusively for the Nation of Israel (Exod 20:2). However, David proclaims that this charter is “torath hā’ādām,” literally “the charter for humanity,” (author’s translation), not just the charter for Israel. Whatever this law/teaching/ instruction/charter is, it is not exclusively limited to the Jews. It is “the charter for humankind.” The word this at the beginning of the clause in v 19b is the clue that reveals the content of this charter.
In the context of 2 Samuel 7, the word this points back to the Lord’s promises in vv 8-16. The literal centerpiece of these verses is the Lord’s promise that He “will set up your [David’s] seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom,” (v 12, NKJV). David’s use of the Hebrew word zerāh, meaning “seed, offspring, descendant,” links this passage to the Seed Promise, a major theme throughout the Old Testament. The Seed Promise was first issued to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. After they sinned, the Lord promised that the Seed of the woman would be victorious over the Serpent, reversing the curse by restoring and blessing creation and humanity (Gen 3:15).
In the Abrahamic covenant, the Lord promised Abraham that by his seed all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen 12:1-3; 22:18). It was when Abraham believed in the Person of the Lord for the promise of the Seed through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed that Abraham was justified (Gen 15:1-6; Rom 4:1-8; Gal 3:6-14). The Seed Promise was extended to Isaac and Jacob (Gen 26:1-4; 28:10-15). The Seed who would conquer the Serpent would be a royal descendant, literally Seed, of Israel (Gen 35:9-12). The promise that the Seed would be a King was also given to Judah (Gen 49:8-12).
In the Davidic covenant, the Lord promised King David that his Seed would sit on an eternal throne, reigning over an eternal kingdom (2 Sam 7:12-16). Although Solomon would be the son of David who would build the temple in Jerusalem, the exalted language of this promise clearly conveys a prophetic fulfillment beyond its historical fulfillment through Solomon. This is a prophecy of the messianic, millennial kingdom that spills into eternity. Jesus is the Seed, the preeminent Son of David, who fulfills this prophecy (Matt 1:1; 22:42; Luke 1:32, 69).
Thus, when David said, “This is the charter for humanity,” (2 Sam 7:19b), he was referring to the Seed Promise (2 Sam 7:12). Believing in the Person, or Seed, for the promise—eternal life in God’s Kingdom—results in justification. “This is the charter for humanity, O Lord Yahweh,” (2 Sam 7:19b). It was the charter for all humanity from Adam and Eve to Moses (4200–1500 BC), issued 2,500 years before the Nation of Israel even existed (Gen 3:15). It was the charter for all humanity—not just the Jews—from Moses to Jesus (1500 BC–33 AD) during the dispensation of the Law (2 Sam 7:19b). And it is the charter for humanity now (1 Tim 1:16). The Seed Promise has always been inclusive, not selective, for both Jew and Gentile. The Seed Promise concerns eternity and is offered to all humankind (John 3:16). Eternal salvation was, is, and always has been by faith in the Person, the Son of David, for the promise— eternal life in God’s Kingdom. In the words of King David, “This is the charter for humanity,” (2 Sam 7:19b).
____________________
David Wyant is the pastor of Bethel Church of the Brethren in New Middletown, OH, an adjunct professor at SES and GES Seminary, and a part-time hospital chaplain. He has a PhD in Biblical Studies from Baptist Bible Seminary and an MDiv from Moody Theological Seminary. He lives with his wife, Lynn, and their cat, Pixi, in Youngstown, OH.
__________
i Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 1711.
