Steve Conover: Thank you for joining us for The Friends of Israel Today. I'm Steve Conover. With me is Chris Katulka. I want to encourage you to visit foiradio.org. You can listen to nearly nine years worth of content that we have on the site featuring Chris Katulka's teaching, and insightful interviews with a host of great guests. Again, that's foiradio.org

Chris Katulka: Steve, we're continuing our conversation about the promise that God made to King David, but hey, we've got some great news here at The Friends of Israel Today radio program. We are now an award-winning radio program, Steve.

Steve Conover: It's so exciting, Chris. Last month at NRB, the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, which is held each year, Rich Bott presented an award to Chris and The Friends of Israel Today radio program. This in recognition of our support of Israel. Chris, in your acceptance speech, you mentioned that even our name, The Friends of Israel Today is controversial, which would be true for all our radio partners airing our program especially now. What did you mean?

Chris Katulka: That's right. I specifically said that it's kind of a controversial thing to be a friend of Israel and so when radio networks air our program, The Friends of Israel Today, it can be a very controversial statement that you support Israel and the Jewish people biblically. But I'd also like to take this moment to thank Steve Conover, Tom Gallione and the entire team for all the hard work that they put in week after week to make this program a success. We give God the glory.

Steve Conover: In the news, Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, told other Hamas officials in Qatar who are handling ceasefire talks that the growing number of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip will intensify global pressure on Israel to stop its military actions against Hamas. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sinwar plans to proclaim victory and emerge from his underground bunker after the fighting ceases.

Chris Katulka: Well Steve, this is really sad and my take is that number one, Sinwar is saying the greatest weapon that Hamas has against Israel is its own Palestinian civilians, that their death will ultimately pressure Israel to stop and that's horrible. Sinwar and other Hamas leaders all actually have something in common. They couldn’t care less about the lives of their citizens, they're pawns in Hamas's hand. For them, the more Palestinian casualties the better. Why? Because it makes Israel look bad. Golda Meir said it best, "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us."

Chris Katulka: Many, many years ago when I was doing Jewish ministry in Dallas, Texas, I had an Israeli friend who made a name for himself in the city as an expert in all things Israel. Now, there's no doubt that he was extremely knowledgeable of the politics, religion, and sensitivity of the Middle East. Well, one day I went to his office and we were talking over a cup of coffee and he said to me, "Chris, I feel comfortable telling you this because we're close friends, but I can destroy your faith in Jesus in just one second." And I laughed and I said, "I'm pretty confident in my relationship with Jesus, so go for it, ruin my faith," I said. So he turned to me and he said, "The Torah and the Tanakh or the Old Testament never said that God would have a son." And I said, "Is that it?"

He said, "Yes, that's a big one. The Old Testament never prophesied that God would have a son." I said to him, "Would you mind if I respond?" He said, "Please go right ahead." So I turned to 2 Samuel 7 and started in verse 12 and it says this, "When the time comes for you to die, King David, I will raise up your descendant, one of your own sons to succeed you and I will establish his kingdom and he will build a house for my name and I will make his dynasty permanent. I will become his father and he will become my son and when he sins, I will correct him with the rod of men and with the wounds inflicted by human beings. But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you." "Did you hear that?" I asked him, "I will become his father and he will become my son, a son of God wrapped up in a promise that God made to King David."

My friend said, "Oh, well that's just the English translation of the Old Testament. It's probably not there in the Hebrew." I said, "Hey, great, good news. I have the Hebrew Bible on my phone. Let me show you." And he quickly changed the conversation and moved on and I am still here to say I am confident in my relationship with the Lord Jesus.

I tell you that story because we have been going through the promise that God made to King David and in our last program on the Davidic Covenant, we learned how God made a promise to King David and it was a promise of a dynasty, a kingly dynasty, a Davidic dynasty that would not be broken and God promises David a few things. He promises him that he would have a dynasty, that a son would establish his kingdom and build a temple, that's King Solomon, and that he would go on to establish David's kingdom and build a house for the Lord. That's the temple. But God also promises that this one will have a permanent dynasty that will eventually lead to the ultimate son of David, Jesus, the Messiah.

As you begin to understand that God's promise to King David was dynastic, you begin to see certain titles that come with being the king of Israel and one of them, my Israeli friend, he completely missed and that's the one that comes from 2 Samuel 7 when he says, "I will become his father and he will become my son." Yes, this may come as a shocker, but the king of Israel was also called the Son of God. The king of Israel was to be God's representative on earth for God's people.

Jesus's mother and God is his father making him a Son of God. However, that title "Son of God" is seen all throughout the Old Testament, a title seen over and over actually in the Psalms specifically. In fact, Psalm chapter 2 is all about the Son. Again, remember, the Son is the king of Israel, which goes back to 2 Samuel 7 and the promise that God made to King David. Just listen to how Psalm chapter 2 opens, "Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail? The kings of the earth form a united front, the rulers collaborate against the Lord and his anointed king." The psalmist is writing that the nations are united in defeating the Lord God and his anointed king. Now this is pointing to the king that sits on David's throne and here anointed in Hebrew is Moshiach, which actually means Messiah.

So it literally says that the nations are against the Lord and its Messiah. As the nations continue to rage against God and his Messiah, listen to what the Lord says in Psalm chapter 2 starting in verse 6, "I myself have installed my king on Zion, my holy hill." The king says, "I will announce the Lord's decree and he said to me," here it is everybody, "You are my son. This very day I have become your father. Ask me and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your personal property." Notice again the language here in Psalm chapter 2 of Sonship, the king of Israel was God's son. And yes, this did apply to David. It did apply to Solomon. Yeah, it applied to the entire dynasty of David.

Also, the nations mock and rage against the Lord and his king, the king of Israel and notice what God promises his son in Psalm chapter 2. He promises him that one day he will be given all the nations as an inheritance. "The ends of the earth as your personal property," God says to his anointed king, his son. Well, we all know that that didn't happen during the days of King David or King Solomon. Now, that doesn't mean that God's promise to David is broken, no. Instead, it means it's awaiting its fulfillment. God promised the king of Israel, the Messiah, the Son of God, the ability to rule over every nation, and that's why it says in Psalm 2, starting in verse 10, "Now, therefore, O kings, be wise, be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all those who put their trust in him.

Did you hear that? "Kiss the son," means pay sincere homage to the king of Israel. God has enthroned him and installed him on Zion, the Holy Hill, to rule over all. The king of Israel is the Son of God and the Son of God is the king of Israel. Psalm 72 gives the same Messianic message. The Psalm was written by King David or for King David, which is David's son and he opens the psalm like this, "O God, grant the king the ability to make just decisions. Grant the king's son the ability to make fair decisions, then he will judge your people fairly and your oppressed ones equitably. The mountains will bring news of peace to the people and the hills will announce justice. He will defend the oppressed among the people. He will deliver the children of the poor and crush the oppressor."

Solomon opens by saying, grant the king the ability to rule with wisdom from above, a godly wisdom that allows the king of Israel to execute justice fairly, according to God's law. And then listen to what Solomon says about the king of Israel, the Messiah, the Son of God. He says this, "During his days the Godly will flourish, peace will prevail as long as the moon remains in the sky. May he rule from seed to sea and from the Euphrates river to the ends of the earth. Before him, the coastlines will bow down and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and the coastlands will offer gifts. The kings of Sheba and Seba will bring tribute. All kings will bow down to him, all nations will serve him."

The Son of God is not just a title to describe Jesus's incarnation, as I mentioned earlier, being born of the Virgin, the son of Mary, the Son of God, no, the Son of God is actually deeply Davidic. It's a deeply Davidic title that goes back to the promise that God made to David in 2 Samuel 7. Now listen, when we return, I want to show you how the Davidic title, the Son of God is fulfilled in Messiah, Jesus. So stick around.

Steve Conover: Chris, when you think of a people group who have been repeatedly threatened and attacked by an enemy whose purpose is to destroy them, who comes to mind?

Chris Katulka: Steve, without a doubt, it's the people of Israel. For millennia, the Jewish people have fought for their lives and somehow never completely lost their strength to keep going.

Steve Conover: I agree and this has to be why when October 7th happened, while it rightfully crushed the souls of every Jewish person, it didn't wipe out their strength completely and for good reason.

Chris Katulka: And this good reason is laid out actually within God's word and diving into that reason is why The Friends of Israel wants to spend the day with our listeners all throughout the United States for our popular one-day Prophecy Up Close Conferences, where we're going to cover Israel's Resilience: The Struggle to Survive.

Steve Conover: Everyone is invited to go to foi.org/prophecy to find a one-day conference in their area and to learn more about what to expect. You can register for a day packed full of studying God's Word together with Bible teachers who are passionate about the people of Israel.

Chris Katulka: We encourage you to come to learn the history, the future, and the ongoing struggle today for Israel's survival and from where that underlying strength comes. To find a Prophecy Up Close Conference in your area, go to foi.org/prophecy. Again, that's foi.org/prophecy.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back everybody. We are looking at titles that are associated with the Davidic promise, the promise that God made to King David in 2 Samuel 7. We've actually been looking at the Psalms and in both Psalm 2 and Psalm 72, these are both Messianic Psalms that highlight the sonship of the king of Israel. They are considered, the kings of Israel are considered sons of God and both Psalms highlight the global reign of the king of Israel. Now, I mentioned earlier that King David didn't have a global rule, even King Solomon didn't have a rule all around the world. And then after Solomon, think about this, the dynasty of David started to lose territory after Solomon's kingdom was divided into two. A global rule from the sea to sea and to the ends of the earth seemed very far off in the Old Testament when you study David's dynasty in the books of 1 and 2 Kings.

However, God's covenant to David was an eternal covenant. It would be fulfilled because it was God's name written on the dotted line. Let's fast-forward to the New Testament, in John chapter 1. When Jesus is gathering his disciples, Philip wants Nathaniel to meet Jesus of Nazareth and that's when Nathaniel says, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Well, the reluctant Nathaniel is willing. That's important. So just listen to what John chapter 1 starting in verse 47 says, it says, "Jesus saw Nathaniel coming toward him and exclaimed, 'Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit.'" Nathaniel asked him, "How do you know me?" And Jesus replied, "Before Philip called you, when I saw you under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathaniel answered him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel."

And now, this passage always makes me laugh. It's actually quite comedic. Nathaniel is quite hesitant to meet Jesus, he questions his hometown and then Jesus appears and calls Nathaniel an honest Israelite. That's when Nathaniel says, "How do you know me?" And Jesus says, "I saw you under the fig tree." Nothing miraculous there, but listen, Nathaniel's response is what gives us insights into these titles that stem from our main verse in 2 Samuel 7. Nathaniel says, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel." And there it is folks. Nathaniel shows you what Jewish people thought about these titles in the days of Jesus. The Son of God is the king of Israel from the promise that God made to King David and the king of Israel is the Son of God from 2 Samuel 7, when God said to David, "I will be his father and he will be my son."

Now stop and think about this for a moment. The Apostle Paul picks up on this Son of God as the king of Israel and he remembers Psalm 2 and Psalm 72, that the king, the Son, would rule from sea to sea to the ends of the earth from Jerusalem. Because remember, God installed his Son, the king, on Zion, his holy hill. And listen to how Paul describes Messiah Jesus, God's son, who though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but he emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave. And by looking like other men and by sharing in human nature, he humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. And as a result, God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father,

Jesus, the Son of God, the King of Israel humbled himself even to death on the cross. And for that reason, God exalted him and gave him a name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ, the Messiah, Jesus is Lord, he is king. Listen, titles matter. God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7 promised a king from David and God would be his father and he would be God's son, the Son of God who is Jesus, the king.

Steve Conover: Israel, on the verge of becoming a state, a teenage Holocaust survivor arrives on her shores alone. His name is Zvi Kalisher. Little did he know his search for a new life in the Holy Land would lead him to the Messiah. Zvi, enthusiastic to share his faith, engaged others in spiritual conversations, many of which can be found in our magazine, Israel My Glory. While Zvi is now in the presence of his Savior, his collected writings from well over 50 years of ministry continue to encourage believers worldwide. Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life of Zvi.

Mike Kellogg: Many years ago, new immigrants moved into our neighborhood in Jerusalem. One family in particular became special to us because they spoke about their faith, yet they did not like people who believed in Christ even though they were not religious themselves. Several years ago, they moved away and we never heard from them again. Recently, my wife and I were waiting for a bus and whom should we see? But our former neighbors. We began to inquire about each other's families. In a loud voice, our friend said, "We're very happy to tell you our son repented." And when they showed us his picture, there he was wearing a long beard in the black clothing of the ultra-Orthodox. "What do you say about this?" The mother asked me. I say, "This is nice clothing for the Purim Carnival." The mother was no longer happy.

"Why do you say such a thing?" The father asked. I explained that to repent means to come before the Lord with a broken heart. "He is not serving the Lord according to the Bible," I told them. "He is serving men. He does what the rabbis tell him, not what the Bible tells him." "Why do you say such a thing?" The mother asked. So I ask them, "What is more important? To worship God according to the Bible or according to the fictitious stories in rabbinical commentaries?" "Well, the Bible, of course," they both replied. So I quickly opened my Bible to Jeremiah 17:7 where it is written, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose hope is the Lord."

As I spoke, others on the bus began listening to our lengthy conversation and asked me to read the passage aloud. Then I gave my Bible to others on the bus and asked them to read verses 5 through 6, which says, "Thus says the Lord, 'Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord for he shall be like a shrub in the desert.'" So I ask, "In whom shall we trust? In those who disguise themselves so they will appear holy or in God who is holy?" Suddenly the atmosphere in the bus became very tense. More and more people joined the conversation. "How can you come here and start to speak about faith?" Someone asked, "You do not even cover your head." I replied, "When God gave Moses the Torah at Mount Sinai, did God ask him, 'Why did you come here without your head covered?'" Moses went to God with his heart. That is the most important thing to the Lord.

I do not have a long beard or try to persuade you I am holy by wearing special clothes, nor do I bring a stack of fictitious stories. I come to you only with the Word of God. In here, it is written how we should worship the Lord. I began to read Deuteronomy 6:13, "You shall fear the Lord your God and serve him. You shall not go after other gods." Everyone on the bus grew quiet. "Yes, you are to repent," I told them, "but you are to repent before the Lord and follow him alone." I encourage them to study God's Word. "He is waiting for you," I said.

Chris Katulka: The impact of Zvi's life in ministry in Israel, it didn't end when he went home to be with the Lord. In fact, Zvi's legacy lives on, our Friends of Israel ministry representatives continue to share the gospel in Jerusalem, Israel, and really all throughout the world. We also serve Holocaust survivors and their families. We provide free food, medicine and clothing, and we even promote the safety and security of the state of Israel and the Jewish people everywhere. So when you give to The Friends of Israel, your donation actually allows us to advance the gospel of our Messiah Jesus. You can give online by visiting foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You can click right there on our donate link. Also, be sure to let us know where you listen when you contact us.

Steve Conover: Thank you so much for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. We have more to say on the Davidic Covenant next week. Chris, where are we headed?

Chris Katulka: Yeah, that's right. We're going to continue our conversation about the promise that God made to King David. We've looked at it in the Old Testament and now we're seeing how it moves into the New Testament. So we're going to see how Jesus fulfills the promise that God made to David and the dynasty that he promised him forever.

Steve Conover: Our host and teacher is Chris Katulka. Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione, edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold, and I'm Steve Conover, executive producer. Our mailing address is FOI Radio P.O. Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio P.O. Box 914 Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Our web address is foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. Or you can call our listener line at (888) 343-6940. Again, that's (888) 343-6940.

The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. We are a worldwide evangelical ministry, proclaiming biblical truth about Israel and the Messiah, while bringing physical and spiritual comfort to the Jewish people.