Jesus as New David, New Isaac, New Melchizedek and Mary as True Ark of the Covenant

Tomorrow’s first reading contains a number of interesting elements. David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, and he acts in some rather strange and unusual ways. Here is a portion of tomorrow’s reading:

“Then David, girt with a linen apron, came dancing before the LORD with abandon, as he and all the house of Israel were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts of joy and to the sound of the horn. The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place within the tent David had pitched for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. When he finished making these offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. He then distributed among all the people, to each man and each woman in the entire multitude of Israel, a loaf of bread, a cut of roast meat, and a raisin cake” (2 Samuel 6:14-15, 17-19).

What are the atypical actions: he is wearing a linen apron, he is dancing with abandon before the Lord, he is offering sacrifices, he blesses the people, and he gives food to the people. The linen apron seems to have a connection to what a priest would wear; his joy before the Lord shows a love of God; and he offers sacrifices and blesses as a priest would. The translation of the Hebrew of the food David gave is challenging. The bread is clear, but the rest is not so clear. Instead of a cut of roast and a raisin cake, it could be understood to be wine. If that is true, David gave the people bread and wine.

At first, there seems to be no precedent for David’s behavior here in this story. He, the king of Jerusalem, acts like a priest and gives the people bread and wine. But, alas, there is a precedent: Melchizedek. Melchizedek was priest of God Most High and the king of Salem/Jerusalem who offered bread and wine. He was not a Levitical priest, for Levi had not even been born yet; rather, he was a priest/king of Jerusalem who blessed Abraham after Abraham had gained peace from all his enemies round about Jerusalem (Genesis 14).

David has just or is completing the process of gaining peace from all his enemies round about: “Now when the king dwelt in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies round about, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent’ ” (2 Samuel 7:1-2). After the second generation of the Israelites who were set free from Egypt sinned again at the end of the forty years of wandering, God gave them a new set of laws, a second law called Deuteronomy. Only in this other law is it mandated that there be one place of worship in the Promised Land. Following is the passage:

“You shall not do according to all that we are doing here this day, every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes; for you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the LORD your God gives you. But when you go over the Jordan, and live in the land which the LORD your God gives you to inherit, and when he gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you live in safety, then to the place which the LORD your God will choose, to make his name dwell there, thither you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the offering that you present, and all your votive offerings which you vow to the LORD. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your menservants and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your towns, since he has no portion or inheritance with you. Take heed that you do not offer your burnt offerings at every place that you see; but at the place which the LORD will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you” (Deuteronomy 12:8-14).

God’s plan as set forth in Deuteronomy is that there will be one place to worship Him. David understands that that one place is in Jerusalem, and it will take place when the Israelites have peace from their enemies living round about them. David has just fully taken over the Promised Land and established his base in Jerusalem, so his next step is to fulfill Deuteronomy and establish Jerusalem as the center of Israelite worship. He brings the Ark of the Covenant to town, and rejoices greatly before the Lord.

Not only is David fulfilling Deuteronomy, but he is also fulfilling Genesis 14-22. David is a new Melchizedek: he is the priest/king of Jerusalem who offers bread and wine and gives a blessing after peace has been obtained from the enemies round about. In some respect, David could be said to be a new Isaac: he offers up his whole self as he dances before the Lord with abandon, and he offered sacrifices as Isaac offered himself at first and instead sacrificed a ram in his place. In response to Isaac’s self-offering, God blessed Abraham and Isaac and all the nations of the earth; likewise, David blesses the people. Jesus, then, comes to fulfill the Old Testament, and He is a new Melchizedek, a new Isaac, and a new David; he is the priest/king of Jerusalem who makes a sacrifice by offering up Himself, and He blesses the people with His offering of bread and wine.

The gospel passage fits in with the first reading; it ends with, “For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35). Obedience to God makes us God’s children and family; Melchizedek, Abraham, Isaac, and David were all obedient to God and thus were His chosen people. Mary is the one who is obedient more than anyone else in the entire human race; that is why she is Mother of God, because of her obedience to Him.

The Ark of the Covenant, the item which makes the temple holy, the sacred home that David is rejoicing before as he brings it into Jerusalem, is a type or symbol of Mary. It held the Ten Commandments, the Manna, and Aaron’s rod; the first is the word of God, the second is the bread of heaven, and the third is the priest’s sign of authority and leadership. Mary was home to the Word of God, the Bread of Heaven, and the High Priest and God Himself. Mary is the True Ark of the Covenant. Another parallel is that before David brings the ark into Jerusalem and leaps before it, it spends three months in the hill country; Mary spends three months in the hill country with her cousin Elizabeth, and John the Baptist leaps for joy in his mother's womb upon hearing the voice of Mary.

The holy items of God are what made the Ark holy, and the Ark is what made the temple holy; likewise, Jesus is who makes Mary holy, and Mary is who makes God’s home, earth, holy because of who she carries within her. In a similar manner, each of us is to be a mother to Christ, bringing Him within ourselves and making the world holy. Also, each of us is to be spouse and bride of Christ, becoming one mind and heart with Him, becoming one flesh with Him, becoming another Christ. Christ within us makes us holy and we become partakers of the divine nature, which is to say that we become self-sacrificing lovers as He is. As self-sacrificing lovers, we bring His presence to the world, which brings peace from our enemies round about. World peace is only found here.

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