As the real David, Jesus is our Shepherd and King: as He Shepherds us, we Enthrone Him

As the real David, Jesus Christ is our Shepherd and our King; as He shepherds us and cares for us, we are under His kingship, and as He rules us, we are being under His shepherding. Hallelujah!

It is amazing to see that there was such a person as David in the Old Testament who typifies Christ in so many aspects.

The Jewish people hold David in the highest regard, for Messiah comes out of David, David was the one who prepared everything to build the temple, and his kingdom was the greatest kingdom in their history.

But here Christ is, the real David, even the One greater than David, and He comes to rule in us and over the earth; we can cooperate with Him today by enjoying His shepherding and being under His ruling.

When David came, the dispensation changed from the age of the priests to the age of the kings.

Saul was the first king, but he was just building his monarchy, and his kingdom did not stand; David, however, was a man according to God’s heart, and his kingdom will stay forever.

However, David died and was buried; how can his kingdom stand forever? It is because Christ is the real David; when Christ was incarnated in the lineage of David to be a descendant of David, He came as the greater David, and His life and living fulfilled the type of David the king.

Even more, Christ is the real King in the kingdom of God, and He brings in the real kingdom of God.

What David did in type, Christ does in reality. Christ changed the dispensation from the age of law to the age of grace; now we no longer have to be under the law – we can simply enjoy Christ, live Christ, and be under grace.

David also typifies Christ in his being persecuted and in his suffering; David suffered very much, for Saul persecuted him and tried to kill him, and he had many enemies.

However, as the Psalms show, David poured out his heart to God, and even his prayer became a type of Christ’s prayer.

David’s sufferings were a type of Christ’s sufferings, David’s prayer became the Lord’s prayer, and David is a thorough type of Christ for the longest amount of time in the Old Testament.

How amazing it is to see Christ today fulfilling the type of David, and how great it is to be joined to Him in spirit and be one with Him!

We as His followers, His disciples, are one with Him in bringing in the kingdom of God, and we also partake of His sufferings for His Body, the church.

David the King Typifies Christ the King: He’s the Fighting King, the Victorious King, and the King Despised and Rejected by Man

One major aspect in which David typifies Christ is him being the king; David the king typifies Christ the King (1 Sam. 16:12; 2 Sam. 16:5-6; Matt. 1:6; 2:2; 27:11; Rev. 19:16).

King David typifies Christ as the real King, the King of the coming kingdom of God.

King David typifies Christ as the king established by God, the warring king, and the king despised and rejected by men (1 Sam. 16:12; 2 Sam. 16:5-6).

On one hand, David was chosen, anointed, and established by God to be the king; on the other hand, he was rejected and despised by men.

Not only Saul persecute him, but even some of Saul’sfollowers threw stones and dirt at him, and he was despised, mocked, and rejected.

Similarly, though the Lord Jesus came as the King of the heavenly kingdom, He was despised and rejected by men.

Even His own people, the Jewish people, rejected Him, despised Him, mocked Him, and eventually put Him to death.

As typified by David, Christ is the fighting King, the One who has won the victory over all His enemies, the One who has gained the land, and the One who has prepared all the materials for building up the church as the temple of God (1 Chron. 21:22-25; 29:29).

Yes, David was the fighting king, but Christ is the real fighting King, for even today He is fighting until He will put His enemies under His feet and the feet of the church.

Yes, David won the victory over all his enemies, but Christ is the real David, the real King, who has won the victory over all His enemies, and He will fully defeat both Satan, sin, and death!

Yes, it was David who gained the good land, but it was Christ who really became the reality of the good land, and as such a One, He is in us and with us to be the reality of the good land for our enjoyment and experience.

Yes, it was David who prepared the materials for the building up of the temple, but Christ is the real David who prepares the many believers in Christ as the materials to build up the church, the house of God, the temple of God. Hallelujah!

After Christ takes possession of the earth, He will reign over the earth as the King in the kingdom, ruling over the nations with His overcoming believers (Rev. 20:4, 6; 2:26-27).

Christ will return as the real David and will reign over the whole earth.

As the coming King, Christ will be the Head and the center of the coming kingdom of God in the millennium, and this will fulfill Isa. 31:2, Jer. 23:5, and Zech. 14:9 and 17.

The prophets who lived long after David still prophesied concerning king David being the king in the kingdom; they spoke of Christ, the real David, the real King, who will return with the kingdom of God!

Hallelujah, Christ will return and will take possession of the earth! The day is coming when He will return as the King, Jesus Christ the King, to reign over the whole earth as the King in the kingdom!

And we as His believers today want to learn to live under His ruling and enjoy His shepherding so that, when He returns, we will be the overcoming believers who return with Him to rule and reign with Him!

Praise You, Lord Jesus, our real King and Lord! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ is Lord, and Jesus Christ is the real King of the kingdom of God! Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ is the coming King in the kingdom of God, and we as His believers will return with Him to rule and reign with Him! Praise the Lord Jesus Christ as the fighting King who has won the victory over all His enemies! Hallelujah, Jesus has gained the land and has given us Himself for our enjoyment! Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ is preparing us to be the proper materials for God’s building! Hallelujah for our glorious, coming King, who will return to reign over the whole earth as the King in the kingdom of God! Praise the Lord Jesus, our Lord and King!

Jesus is our Shepherd and King: as He Shepherds us, we Obey and Enthrone Him as our King

If we read the prophets in the Old Testament we will see that many times they spoke of David and Christ as one (Jer. 30:9; Ezek. 34:23-24; 37:24-25; Hosea 3:5; Amos 9:11); when you read what they speak of David, you realize that they actually they speak about Christ.

In Jer. 30:9 it says, They will serve Jehovah their God and David their King, whom I will raise up for them.

David died already, how will God raise him up? It is Christ whom God will raise up, for Christ is the real David to be the king. Here David refers to Christ, who is the real David and who will be the King in the restoration, that is, in the millennium (Isa. 32:1; Rev. 20:4, 6).

This speaks of the earthly part of the kingdom of Christ in the millennium, where Christ will be King.

In Ezek. 34:23-24 we see that God will set up His servant David over His people to be their Shepherd, and He will feed them, and His servant David will be a prince among them.

David typifies Christ, the real Shepherd of God’s flock; He is our good Shepherd, our real Shepherd, and He feeds us and causes us to be filled and satisfied (John 10:11; Heb. 13:20; Isa. 9:7; Hosea 3:5; Micah 5:2; Luke 1:32-33).

Yes, David was set by God to be the shepherd over his people, but Christ is the real Shepherd. Jesus Christ is our Shepherd and King.

When the Lord Jesus comes as the Shepherd to care for us, He also comes as the King to govern us; as we enjoy His inner shepherding, we obey Him as our king.

As the Lord rules and reigns in us, we enjoy His shepherding, and as we enjoy His tender care, we submit to Him as the King.

The issue of the Lord’s caring for us as our Shepherd is that we obey Him as our King and come under His kingship and His throne within us.

Unlike the natural thinking of how to rule and reign, the Lord is a Shepherd-King – He is our King and Shepherd – the One who takes care of God’s flock, feeds it, and satisfies the sheep.

And this kind of shepherding care is the way that He rules over us; the way He governs and rules over us is by shepherding us. What a kingdom is this! There’s no other kingdom like this kingdom.

On one hand, He shepherds us as our Shepherd; on the other hand, His shepherding results in our obeying Him as our King, for Christ is our King and Shepherd.

In the kingdom of God, there is the aspect of us obeying Him as our King, for we are subjects in His kingdom coming under His kingship and throne; however, the way we do this is by His shepherding.

We need to see that Christ is our King and Shepherd, our Shepherd and King.

In Ezek. 37:24 we further see that David will be King over the people, and they all will have one Shepherd; this clearly speaks of Christ, who is the real David.

David started out as a little shepherd and was made king; his background was still that of being a shepherd.

Today we have Christ as the real King and Shepherd, and He rules by His shepherding, and His shepherding leads us under His ruling. He is the Top Shepherd.

In relation to Israel, the prophecy given here will be fulfilled in the millennium, the age of restoration, and in eternity, in the new heaven and new earth.

In Hosea 3:5 we are told, “Afterward the children of Israel will return and seek Jehovah their God and David their King, and they will come with fear to Jehovah and to His goodness in the last days”. Hallelujah!

David their King – this is Christ in the millennium! And the last days refer to the age of restoration (see Matt. 19:28).

In the Lord’s upcoming reign God’s authority and glory will be fully manifested, and the whole earth with its peoples will be brought into righteousness, peace, joy, and the full blessing of God’s creation (6:13; Isa. 32:1, 16-18; 35:1-2, 5-7).

The day is coming, praise the Lord, when He will return to rule with God’s authority and glory.

Today we can have a foretaste of this by enjoying Christ as our King and Shepherd, our Shepherd-King. In the true church life, we have the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17).

We have the real David with us today, and He rules by His shepherding, and His shepherding issues in our obeying Him as the King.

Hallelujah for our real David, our King and Shepherd!

Praise You, Lord Jesus, for being our real King and Shepherd! We open to Your shepherding today. We open to Your tender and sweet care for us through all our situations and through the Body. Amen, Lord, we enjoy Your shepherding and we come to You as our King. We enthrone You as our King. We take You as our supreme authority. Amen, Lord, keep us enjoying Your shepherd in the church life as the kingdom of God until You return! Amen, come, Lord Jesus, the real King in the kingdom of God! Bring in Your reign where Your authority and glory will be fully manifested! Amen, Lord, bring the whole earth with its peoples into righteousness, peace, joy, and the full blessing of God’s creation! Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, our King and Shepherd!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Minoru Chen, and portions from, The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 32 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of 1 and 2 Samuel (2021 winter training), week 7, entitled, David Typifying Christ, the Real David – the King of the Coming Kingdom of God.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – The King of love my Shepherd is, / Whose goodness faileth never; / I nothing lack if I am His, / And He is mine forever. (Hymns #528)
  – Hail to the Lord’s Anointed, / Great David’s greater Son! / Hail, in the time appointed, / His reign on earth begun! / He comes to break oppression, / To set the captive free; / To take away transgression, / And rule in equity. (Hymns #968)
  – My King will soon come back again, / The sky be filled with Him; / The universe to be redeemed / Will see His light therein. / The Lord will soon fulfill His plan, / His footsteps now I hear; / His glorious frame I faintly see / Beginning to appear. (Hymns #960)