The Key of the House of David

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isaiah 22:22)

I ran across this verse in Sunday School lesson #37 in the teacher’s manual.  The manual’s interpretation is that this tells of the Messiah and that he has the power to admit or exclude any person from Heavenly Father’s presence.

This leads me to ask the question, “Why is ‘the house of David’ being used to refer to Heavenly Father’s presence?”  We’re used to David being used as a type of Christ, so why the slight shift here?  

I suppose since David was the king of Israel, and Heavenly Father is the king of the earth, Isaiah meant to teach how Christ was like the doorkeeper to Heavenly Father’s presence.

Another meaning occurs to me after having studied 1 Samuel so carefully lately about how the Lord chooses kings of Israel.  It suggests that to have the key of the house of David opened for you is to be admitted not just into the presence of royalty, but to be admitted into royalty itself, to be made a king or queen, implying celestial exaltation.

It could also refer to the resurrection, since we can only return to the presence of God, having been resurrected.  It suggests the final judgment and our hope to stay in the presence of God with a favorable verdict.

All of this depends on Christ.

I also like how two other scriptures give us more perspective on this verse of Isaiah.  John the Revelator uses this imagery and Nephi clarifies it too.

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write;

These things saith he that is holy, he that is true,

he that hath the key of David,

he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

8 I know thy works:

behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:

for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:7-8)

Imagine how you’d feel if a prophet or apostle told you that Christ had opened the door to you.  Wouldn’t that be the greatest feeling?

Then there’s Nephi:

…the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel;

and he employeth no servant there;

and there is none other way save it be by the gate;

for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name. (2 Nephi 9:41)

Just think; if Christ had never been born, that key of David spoken of by Isaiah would never have been forged.