A New David

Towards the end of his life Joseph Smith said, “Although David was a king he never did obtain the spirit and power of Elijah and the fulness of the Priesthood; and the priesthood that he received, and the throne and kingdom of David is to be taken from him and given to another by the name of David in the last days raised up out of his lineage.”  That’s quite the prophecy and despite the fact that it was a David—a man named David Ben-Gurion—who was the primary founder of the modern state of Israel, surely this prophecy from the prophet has not yet been fulfilled.  There must be some future Jewish leader named David who will play a major role in the events of the Last Days.  And given that he is to be given priesthood and the spirit and power of Elijah, he will surely be a righteous man.    

The Ensign article I referred to yesterday quoted this statement from the prophet and suggested that “Ezekiel prophesies this, and there are additional references in Jeremiah, Isaiah, Hosea, and Zechariah.”  I searched to see in the scriptures which of these references I could find that say that there will be a leader named David in the last days.  Ezekiel wrote this: “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.  And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever” (Ezekiel 37:24-25).  The heading before the chapter suggests that this “servant David” is the Messiah, and it’s possible that it refers to both a mortal David who will be a leader and the Messiah as well.  Ezekiel also wrote this prophecy: “And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.  And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it” (Ezekiel 34:23-24).  This likewise certainly feels like a Messianic prophecy, but it may also be a reference to someone named David.  Speaking of the last days Jeremiah wrote, “But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them” (Jeremiah 30:9).  Again this sounds like a Messianic prophecy, but it could also be that “David their king” is the future David that Joseph Smith was referring to.  We have very similar language from Hosea who said, “Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days” (Hosea 3:5).  The interesting thing about this is that it refers to the Lord and David their king, suggesting that David here is not the Lord.  So it would seem that this is the David who is prophesied to come in the last days.  If nothing else the understanding of this prophecy gives us one more sign to be watching for as we observe the events of the last days unfold.