God’s Messiah in the Old Testament: Expectations of a Coming King

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“To anticipate our findings, our argument to the contrary is that Saul and David are depicted as messianic figures in Samuel, such that their position and roles presage a royal personage promised by God. Though the book of Samuel is not explicit concerning the prospect of a future ideal ruler in the Davidic line, the experiences of Saul and David present a messianic paradigm that helps to shape what God’s people are to expect to see in the coming messianic figure. In other words, the portrait of these historical messianic figures carries implications for the realization of a messianic ideal in the end time.” (Page 4)

“The title ‘the Messiah’ is not found in Samuel or the Psalter, or, indeed, in the Old Testament as a whole, and the two obscure references to ‘an anointed one’ (māšîaḥ without a definite article) in Dan. 9:25 and 9:26 are hardly exceptions, for there is ongoing scholarly disagreement over to what these refer (king or priest?).⁶ Though this surprising fact is often pointed out by scholars, it may not be as significant as it at first sounds. It certainly does not mean that messianism is a postbiblical concept and only read into the Old Testament by those wearing Christian spectacles.” (Page 3)

“The subject of this book is fundamental to a proper understanding of the faith we profess, for the name of our faith (Christianity) and the name given to its followers (Christians) derive from a core belief that Jesus of Nazareth is the ‘Christ’ (= Messiah). In terms of a definition of ‘messiah’ and ‘messianism,’ in this book these terms are understood to refer to the hope of the coming of a royal agent who will serve God’s kingdom purposes, an expectation that Christians believe finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ.¹ Put simply, a messianic passage or book in the Old Testament is one in which this royal figure is prefigured, anticipated, predicted, or described.” (Page 1)