Tag Archives: David

The Ancient Sages Taught: Two Messiahs to Come— The Same or Different Persons?

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The Scriptures Reveal Two Messiahs Are to Come —
One Who Will Be Like Joseph and One Who Will Be Like David

In Jewish literature, the Messiah whose life would resemble Joseph was referred to as the suffering servant or “Messiah Son of Joseph” (Mashiach Ben Joseph), while the Messiah whose life and ministry would resemble David was referred to as warrior king or “Messiah Son of David” (Mashiach Ben David). The Jewish sages came to this conclusion because when reading the messianic prophecies in the Tanakh they saw two different, even conflicting Messiahs whose roles were very different from each other. What was not known by the ancient Jewish sages, and was a subject of much debate, was which Messiah would come first, when he would come, would he be the same person or two different individuals, and how much time would separate the two comings.

For believers in Yeshua, this does not seem like a dilemma, for we look back in time and can see clearly that Yeshua fulfilled the Suffering Servant role at his first coming, and will fulfill the Conquering King role at this second coming. But two thousand years ago, without the benefit of historical perspective, this was not so easy a matter to figure out. Even the disciples were at times in a quandary as to which mission Yeshua was to fulfill as evidenced by their last question to him before his final ascension, “Will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 2:6).

Let’s review some of the passages in the Tanakh that point to the two different Messiahs.

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Messiah Son of Joseph

  • The Suffering Servant will die a martyrs death for the sins of his people (Isa 52:13–53:12).
  • In the end of times, the Jews will look upon him whom they pierced and mourn for him as one mourns for his only son (Zech 12:9–10).
  • Verse one of Psalm 22 are some of the last words to come out of Yeshua’s mouth while he hung dying on the cross. This psalm predicts certain aspects of the Suffering Servant Messiah’s ministry.
  • John 1:45 may be a double entendre allusion to Yeshua as being not only the (adopted) son of Joseph, the husband of Mary, but to his being Messiah Son of Joseph as well.

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Messiah Son of David

  • He will restore righteous government in Jerusalem (Isa 1:26)
  • He shall judge the nations (Isa 2:4)
  • All on earth shall worship him (Isa 2:17).
  • He shall rule the earth and destroy the wicked (Isa 11:4).
  • Under his rulership, all Israelites will be restored to their homeland (Isa 11:12).
  • Matthew 9:27; 12:23; 15:22; 20:30, 31; 21:9,15; 22:42 are references to the expectations of the Jewish followers of Yeshua that he was Messiah Son of David.
 

Following YHVH Can Be Tough on Marriages

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Genesis 22:19; 23:2, Abraham dwelt at Beersheba…Sarah died in…Hebron. At this point, Abraham and Sarah lived in two separate towns some 50 miles apart. Why was this? The Scriptures don’s say, so we can only speculate. Perhaps the trial of Abraham’s faith in the previous chapter where YHVH asked him to sacrifice Isaac and Abraham’s compliance to do so put such a strain on their marriage that they separated. Perhaps the idea that YHVH would ask Abraham to sacrifice their only son was so hard for Sarah to believe that she questioned whether Abraham had even heard correctly from YHVH about this.

20243059Whatever the case, following YHVH can be tough on marriages and families as Yeshua notes in Matthew 10:34–39. Sometimes families split as a result. Abraham wasn’t unique in his situation.

In Exodus 4:24–26, in all likelihood, Zipporah and Moses split up over YHVH’s request to circumcise their two sons, for we never hear of Zipporah again, except that Moses had sent her away (Exod 18:2). Some Bible scholars take this mean that he put her away or divorced her (likely because of her refusal to follow him onto the mission field). Later, we find Moses remarrying a Cushite woman (who was likely black; Num 12:1).

David had to leave his first wife Michal, the daughter of Saul, because she despised him for dancing before YHVH’s ark of the covenant (2 Sam 6:14–16, 23).

The situation with the prophet Hosea is notable, as well, in this regard. YHVH required him to marry a wife of harlotry as part of his spiritual walk, so that he would better understand the experience of YHVH who was married to the adulterous nation of Israel. Hosea didn’t even know whether the children born to his wife were his own, or those of another man, yet he was to love her unconditionally anyway.

In the apostolic era, we hear virtually nothing about the wives of the apostles. This in no way indicates that their marriages were troubled, but one can only wonder given the rigors of the spiritual assignment YHVH had given them.

Paul is a case in point. He was likely married, since it would have been uncommon for someone of his spiritual stature to not to have been married in the Hebraic culture in which he lived, yet no mention of his wife is made. At the same time, he mentions a thorn in the flesh to buffet him and to keep him humble (2 Cor 12:7). On can only wonder if this isn’t a reference to a difficult marriage situation. Perhaps his wife became antagonistic at his conversion to Yeshua resulting in his leaving the prestigious and affluent life of the religious elite of his day, and counting his past life as dung (Phil 3:8). This may have been too much for her to bear.