Tu‘apulelulu Tisema 28, 2023
Donkey Throne
‘Oku Ne Heka ki ha ‘Asi
ZECHARIAH 9:9
REJOICE GREATLY, O DAUGHTER OF ZION! SHOUT ALOUD, O DAUGHTER OF JERUSALEM! BEHOLD, YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU; RIGHTEOUS AND HAVING SALVATION IS HE, HUMBLE AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A DONKEY.
SAKALAIA 9:9
Tome‘e ke lahi, ta‘ahine Saione; Hiki mavava, ta‘ahine Selusalema: Ko ena ho tu‘i ‘oku me‘a mai kiate koe; Ko e faitotonu ia mo fai fakamo‘ui foki: Ko e ‘Eiki fa‘a kātaki, pea ‘oku ne heka ki ha ‘asi, ‘Io, ki ha ki‘i manu ko e tama ‘a ha ‘asi fefine.
The Messiah is linked to donkeys all the way back in Genesis, when Jacob, in blessing Judah, said a ruler would come from his lineage (49:8-12). Using poetic hyperbole, Jacob says the blessings that arise with him will be so magnificent that he'll bind "his donkey's [aton] colt [ayir] to the choice vine"-usually a big no-no because the colt would destroy the vine. But there will be so many vines-or the vines will be so strong-that it won't matter. Fast-forward to the end of David's life, and the son of David, Solomon, rides his father's choice pirdah ("female mule") into Jerusalem to mark him as the rightful heir to throne (1 Kings 1:33). Zechariah prophesies that Israel's king, the Anointed one, will ride into Zion "mounted on a donkey [chamor], on a colt [ayir], the foal of a donkey [aton]."
The scene on Palm Sunday is thus biblically kaleidoscopic. The colors of Genesis, 1 Kings, and Zechariah mix and mingle together. Here is Judah's heir. Here is the Son of David. Here is Israel's king. He rides into Jerusalem, "righteous and having salvation" for us.
Ride into our midst, King Messiah, into our lives, families, and churches, to give us salvation.
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