I had reviewed the text a little before reading it out loud in the classroom
that day, but it was striking to read those words, in that moment, about “a
son born to the house of David” while 11- and 12-year-olds were quietly busy
around me with Christmastime preparations. Here I thought we were working
our way through the narrative of the dark (and darkening) past of Israel and
then something suddenly turns up that sounds a lot like it could be talking
about the Lord’s birth into the world (leaving aside the fact that King Josiah
is explicitly named in the prophecy). With just this one little nugget in mind,
there was a little extra richness added to my own reflections on the Lord’s birth
that December.
So that has led to further study of what other “foreshadowings” to the
Christmas story there may be in the Books of Kings. Is there more in those
historical books that could add further richness and dimension to the familiar
advent stories in Scripture?
Another clear example (and a connection that the Heavenly Doctrines
make explicit in several passages) is the symmetry we see between the story
of the wise men in Matthew 2 and the visit of the Queen of Sheba. In both
cases there was a journey from the east to Jerusalem in search of a fabled king;
in both cases gifts were brought that included gold and spices as gifts (see I
Kings 10); and in the both cases there is a theme of wonder and wisdom: “That
wisdom flourished in Arabia, appears from the Queen of Sheba’s journey to
Solomon . . . also from the three wise men who came to the newborn Jesus, a
star going before them . . . ” (Coronis 41)
And there are other seeming pre-echoes of the Christmas story to be
found in the histories of the Books of Kings:
Just as Zacharias, Mary and Joseph were all visited, guided and encouraged by
angels, so was the prophet Elijah in his flight from Jezebel to Mount Horeb. [I Kings
19: 5-8]
When “horses and chariots of fire” appeared reassuringly “all around Elisha” (II
Kings 6: 17), it prefigured the “multitude of the heavenly host” that appeared to the
shepherds living out in the fields “praising God” on the night that the Lord was
born. (Luke 2: 13-14)
And although it would bear more study (and more discussion than we can go into
here), I believe there are distinct (and maybe even intentional?) connections to
be found between Solomon’s prayer of dedication at the opening of the temple in
Jerusalem (I Kings 8: 14-53) and the words of thanksgiving and praise spoken by
Simeon in a rebuilt version of that same temple as he held the Infant Jesus in his
arms. (Luke 2: 25-35)
Each of these and more could serve well as examples of how all of the
stories from the Old Testament, in one way or another, are prophetic of the
Lord’s coming into the world and might add depth to our appreciation of the
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