Psalm 22 is a very famous typological prophecy. Think about the background of the Psalm. Well, the Psalm does not specify when it was written. The best Scriptural fit is recorded in 1 Kings 1, 2 and 1 Chronicles 22, 23. David was an old man. He was in such poor physical condition that he could not maintain his body weight. A young girl was put in his bed to keep him out of hypothermia. David was near death. He was bedridden and could hardly stand. He was surrounded by people asking when he would die, and who would follow him to the throne. His own son plotted to take the throne by force. This would have prevented the temple from being built, and would have threatened the continuity of the covenant. Deliverance came when Solomon was able to take the throne. As soon as this happened, David began to organize those who would praise God in the temple. David began to bring about, with Solomon, the building of the temple as he had vowed to God. We know this much for sure about the end of David’s life.
If Psalm 22 was written at this time, which is unclear but quite probable, a number of things can also be understood from the content of Psalm 22. The Psalm has a persistent theme of death because David was close to death. David claimed in Psalm 22 that he could count all of his bones (Psalm 22:17). This almost certainly describes the time when David was very old and infirm. As David’s circulation broke down, he may have very well suffered from edema, the swelling of his extremities. This is a painful and debilitating condition. So, his doctors may have tried to relieve the swelling by lancing and draining his hands and feet (typifying the piercing of Jesus’ hands and feet). This is speculation, but it is not at all improbable. David complained in Psalm 22 that they had pierced his hands and feet (Psalm 22:16). The servants in David’s house could have easily cast lots for David’s clothing; clothing that he would never be able to wear again. David could easily have felt forsaken by God (Psalm 22:1). None of this is clearly prophetic. David was complaining about the sorrows of his own life, not looking forward specifically to his great descendant Christ; however, Christ was in David’s experience through the illumination of God the Holy Spirit as an ensample. Christ experienced all that David experienced. It’s no wonder then why Christ returned to the words of this Psalm at the cross (Mark 15:34). These are the parallels between David’s experience at the end of his life and Christ’s experience at the crucifixion.
What do you think about the above arguments? Are there other parallels that you would list or some that you would remove?
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