The Davidic Covenant

Transcript

GRS 2-78
7/22/2007
The Davidic Covenant
2 Samuel 7
Gil Rugh

We are continuing our study of Israel’s history and we are in Second Samuel and the 7th Chapter. Turn there in your Bibles, if you will. Great things have been happening in Israel’s history, dramatic things with long-term implications. The nation Israel has been united finally under King David’s rule in Chapter 5 verse 3. All the tribes come together to unite under David’s rule. Remember Judah had recognized him as king and so for seven and half years David had his capital in Hebron, but he was really king over Judah although he is the legitimate king of the nation, but it’s not for seven and half years that all the other tribes, the other eleven tribes come together and agreed that David is their king. David has moved to his capital from Hebron to Jerusalem and he is finally removed the Jebusites who occupied Jerusalem and he has established his capital, the center of his reign as Jerusalem, and nothing needs to be said about the ongoing significance of that city right down to our day and as will see into the distant future.

Also in the last part of Chapter 5 the Philistines were finally defeated. They are not annihilated, but they are defeated as a significant problem for Israel and what David has done has brought peace, if you will to the kingdom, he is a warring king, but now there is a time of rest and David brings in Chapter 6, the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem and that’s crucial because the ark was representative of God’s presence with his people and so David was concerned to have it in Jerusalem where he is king dwells to rule over the nation.

Chapter 7 records David’s desire now to build a more permanent house for the ark of God. Remember the tabernacle was established under Moses and the ark is kept in a tent that has not changed. Now David has built himself a splendid palace and he becomes convinced, it’s not right that the ark of God versus the place that manifests his presence among the people resides in a tent. Well, I dwell in a splendid palace, so his intention is to build a house for the ark of God. God will intervene and say, "no, you can’t build me a house" but interestingly God says I am going to build your house referring to David’s dynasty. And so Chapter 7 is one of those chapters that you must grapple with in your understanding of scripture because it contains what is known as the Davidic Covenant and it guarantees a permanent dynasty for the line of David and it establishes the kingdom for Israel under Davidic rule.

A very important Chapter, Second Samuel Chapter 7, let’s note how it begins. The first three verses talk about David’s desire and plan to build a house, a temple where the tabernacle can reside. Verse 1, it came about when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, but David is a warrior king. We will see more of that in a moment, but finally the enemies are driven back. Now Israel is never a kingdom on the magnitude of an Assyria, a Persia, a Greece, Rome, but in Israel there is peace and the enemies of the region have been subdued.

The king said to Nathan the prophet. Nathan is introduced to us here now for the first time. Nothing said to introduce him, but he is a great prophet. He will become a key figure in Chapter 12 in regard to David’s sin with Bathsheba and then he will become involved in establishing Solomon, David’s son as the rightful successor to Davidic throne because in David’s declining period of life and the closing days of his life there is some jerking for the throne. Nathan will become a key figure.

We all turn to these passages now, but in First Chronicles Chapter 29 verse 29 Nathan is mentioned as one of three prophets who were chroniclers of David’s reign. So he was one of three prophets that God used to record the facts and information about David’s reign. And then in Second Chronicles Chapter 9 verse 29, we are told that he also was one of three prophets so instrumental in recording the events of Solomon’s reign, even though he is not given a prominent place on certain occasions it becomes very prominent, he does play a key role in God’s plan of recording this key portion of Israel’s history.

Well, he has a close relationship with David and David says to Nathan the prophet, see now I dwell in a house of cedar. The ark of God dwells within tent curtains. Nathan said to the king, do all that is in your mind, the Lord is with you. Nathan recognizes that David is God’s anointed king. And so at this point in time he assumes that David’s desire would be consistent with God’s will. So he encourages David to proceed, but the very same night the Lord appears to Nathan and said verse 4, “go and say to my servant David, thus says the Lord are you the one who should build me a house to dwell in”. And basically what God is going to say to David is you can’t build me a house. So the question here is basically rhetorical, are you the one to build me a house? The answer is no. Really three reasons given why David can’t build God a house. The first is implied in the question, but the reason is really not developed here, but you have to turn over to Chronicles.

So leave Samuel, go through Kings, First and Second Kings come to First Chronicles Chapter 22. Remember First Chronicles is giving a parallel account, if you will, but it fills in some of the details that are not included in Samuel.

First Chronicles Chapter 22, the reason given here basically is David was a man of war and bloodshed and in that sense even though it was God’s plan to use him with his wars, bloodshed in killing the enemies of Israel that made him not a fit candidate to build the temple, the house of the Lord.

So in First Chronicles Chapter 22 verse 7 – I didn’t get the right chapter myself. David said to Solomon I intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God, but the word of the Lord came to me saying you have shed much blood and have waged great wars. You shall not build a house to my name because you have shed some much blood on the earth before me. Now remember this doesn’t keep David from being a man after God’s own heart. A man who enjoyed that relationship with God that we saw appreciate as we read his psalms and so on, but he was a violent man. We have seen some of his acts in dealing with the enemies of God. So God says that bloodshed, not condemning David for it, doesn’t say he did the wrong thing with that. It just means he is not a suitable person to lead in the building of the house.

Verse 9, behold a son will be born to you. He shall be a man of rest; I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name shall be Solomon and I will give him peace and quiet in Israel in his days. He shall build a house for my name. You see David does the bloody work, gets rid of the enemies then when Solomon come to the throne he doesn’t have to be the warrior king like David was. Because the enemies have been so thoroughly pushed back and crushed by his father David that Solomon’s 40 years of reign will be a time of rest and quiet. Much of David’s reign is characterized by warfare. Even as God’s agent in the war that doesn’t mean then he is the candidate to do this other task for God. God clearly assigning different individuals different responsibilities.

All right come back to Samuel, that’s the first reason, so when it says in verse 5 of Second Samuel 7 thus says the Lord “are you the one who should build a house for me to dwell in” even though Samuel doesn’t give the reasons why David later tells us. God made clear why he shouldn’t build the house even though Samuel doesn’t give the reasons why David later tells us. God made clear why he shouldn’t build the house it just left here and the answer would be no.

Second reason verse 6 “for I have no dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt even to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle.” All the way back to the days of Moses and the Exodus, we had the tabernacle that was the dwelling place of God. Basically God saying that’s the way it has been for the last 500 years rounded off 450 years or so. So that has worked fine, now you can appreciate David’s concern. It’s not right for me the king to dwell in a splendid palace and the God of Israel to manifest his presence in a humble tent and the concern of his heart is good, but God said it’s fine the way it is for now, that’s the second reason.

And thirdly verse 7 “wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd, my people Israel saying why have you not build me a house of cedar”. Back in Exodus Chapter 25 verses 8 and 9, God took the initiative and told Israel to construct the tabernacle and basically God tells David I will take the initiative when it’s time for a house to be built for me. So I wouldn’t say it’s a rebuke because the concern of David is relevant, but it is a correction. David’s desire to honor the Lord may be good, but basically God tells David I will take the initiative and I will decide when it’s time for a house to be built for me. He doesn’t say that a house that you want to build for me, but I will decide when the house should be built, in my time at my initiatives. So those are the basic reasons given and David has such a heart for the Lord, you are aware he won’t build the temple. You what David spends his time doing gathering all the materials that his son will need to build a splendid temple. I can’t build it, but I can be used of the Lord to get things ready. So that all the gold, the silver, the Lord everything will be there and then when God says that my son should be do it then that will all be ready for him.

Verse 8 follows on, what God does is use this now to turn attention to the fact David wanted to build a house for God, but God says David I am going to build your house, not the physical house David already has a palace, but his dynasty. I am going to build your line, your family. So he carries that thought of building a house to an analogy of what he is going to do for David.

Now therefore thus verse 8 “you shall say to my servant David.” God speaking now to Nathan carrying the word to David. “Thus says the Lord of host, I took you from the pasture from following the sheep to be a ruler over my people Israel. Remember David when Samuel came to anoint one of the sons of Jesse king, David was out caring for the sheep. When David came to the front lines and saw Goliath there, what did his brothers say? Where did you leave those few sheep you are responsible for? God says I took you from the pasture following the sheep to ruler over my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone. I have cut off all your enemies from before you and I will make you a great name like the names of the great men who are honored. You see how God is turning the attention. The message of God through Nathan the prophet to David is no you can’t build a house for me and here are the reasons, but there’s no rebuke here because God is going to promise greater blessings than David could have “hoped for”, humanly speaking. Because I want to tell you what I am going to build for you David, I am going to build a permanent dynasty; I will make you the end verse of 9, a great name like the names of the great men who are on the earth.

And we move in to what is called the Davidic covenant and God fulfilled that promise right? Everybody know about David, so you have one of the great names on the earth right down to today even unbelieving people in the world know of David. Now some people even debate did David ever live? As we don’t find the archaeological ruins we would expect from a king David, but everybody knows about David he has a great name in the earth, well known. We are in what is called the Davidic covenant and as all the major covenants of scripture, the Davidic covenant comes out of the Abrahamic covenant.

In the Abrahamic covenant promised land, seed and blessing. The land promise is each of these areas land, seed and blessing get elaborated in its own covenant. God’s promise to land from Palestine of Israel, canon to the Jews, the physical Jews. Abraham and his physical descendants, told Abraham to walk the breath and length of the land and everywhere you go and all you see I am giving it to you and your descendants – part of the Abrahamic covenant. That aspect of the Abrahamic covenant is expanded in what is known as the Palestinian covenant because it relates to the land of Palestine.

That is expanded in Deuteronomy Chapter 30 verses 1-8. The seed part of the covenant God promises Abraham many descendants and he will make of him a great nation and the Davidic covenant that we are going to look at and the rest of Chapter 7 expands on that promise of the seed of Abraham. An aspect of that will focus in Christ as Paul develops in Galatians, a seed singular and it’s focused in Christ. But the seed aspect of the Abrahamic covenant is developed in the Davidic Covenant which we have here in Second Samuels 7. You have land, seed, and blessings because in Abraham all nations will be blessed. There is promise in that God’s salvation blessings, not just for the physical seed of Abraham, but for all nations. Important to keep that in mind because some people think that the gentiles have replaced the Jews and so there’s no future for Israel, but you understand in the Abrahamic covenant there’s specific promises related to physical Jews, physical descendants of Abraham and also salvation promises for non physical descendants of Abraham. And that blessing includes salvation blessing will include Israel, but it includes all the nations beyond Israel. That aspect of the Abrahamic covenant is expanded in the new covenant – Jeremiah 31. So you see Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant is the overarching covenant. Then you had the Palestinian covenant, the Davidic covenant and the new covenant, three specific covenants that’s build on each of the three major emphasis in the Abrahamic covenant.
Maybe you ought to go back to the Abrahamic covenant or go back to genesis 12, 13, 17, you don’t want to look at all these.

Go to Genesis Chapter 12, when God told Abram who would later have his name changed to Abraham to leave his father’s household and so on, leave and you go to the land which I will show you, I will make you a great nation, I will bless your name, make your name great, you will be a blessing, I will bless those who bless you, the one who curses you I will curse, in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. You see it won’t be just limited Abraham’s physically, but in him all the families of earth, all the nations of the earth and when they come to the land of Canaan down the end of verse 5.

Verse 6, Abraham passed through the land. Verse 7, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to your descendants I will give this land. Over in Chapter 13 verse 14 lift up your eyes God says to Abraham and look from the place where you are northward, southward, eastward, westward for all the land which you see I will give it to you and to your descendants, your seeds forever, I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth. So if anyone can number the dust of the earth, your descendants can be numbered, walk through the land, look it over. It’s all going to belong to you, to your descendants, a reiteration of these promises over in Chapter 17. God again appears to Abraham when he is 99 years old in verse 2, I will establish my covenant between me and you, I will multiply you exceedingly, significant remember because Abraham is 99 and still doesn’t have any physical descendants and his wife is 10 years younger and she has never had any children, she is barren.

Verse 5, your name will not be called Abram but Abraham and I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. Remember that we focus on the physical descendants of Abraham as the Jews, but he is also the father of a number of other nations – one gets known particularly well, but then with his second wife Keturah in Genesis, he fathers a number of other children who become heads of other nations. So promises there and the sign of circumcision given as the establishing of the covenant with the Jews.

Come back to Second Samuels 7 we want to talk about the Davidic covenant which is a promise to Abraham’s physical seed, that seed part of the Abrahamic covenant. Several promises given here in the Davidic covenant we read the end of verse 9, verse 9 the last statement in it, I will make you a great name like the names of the great men who are on the earth referring to David and we even refer to the throne as what? The Davidic throne because David is if you will the founder of this dynasty. Remember Saul was king, but Saul was of the tribe of Benjamin. Now the line is transferred to the tribe of Judah and David and his line will go on as we will see.

Verse 10 second provision Israel will have a place of their own, I will also appoint a place for my people Israel, will plant them that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again. So they are going to have their own place, Israel will, the land. Talking about the physical Jews, we will note here is these promises are inseparably joined together, the promises to David are inseparably be bound together to God’s promises to the physical nation in Israel. So Israel will have their own place, their own land, I will appoint a place for my people Israel, will plant them that they may live in their own place.

Third provision they will have rest from their enemies, the end of verse 10 and verse 11. They will not be disturbed again nor will the wicked afflict them anymore as formally even from the dead that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares you the Lord will make a house for you. So Israel is going to have rest. Another provision Solomon’s son, David’s son Solomon will succeed him and build a house for the Lord.

We are told at the end of verse 11 in that last statement the Lord declares for you that the Lord will make a house for you. Talking about establishing his dynasty, we still use that expression of certain kings, is of the house of sword, now that’s the family line the Lord will make a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom, he shall build a house for my name, there is Solomon. Remember David can’t do it. Solomon will build the house, so the refusal of God to allow David should not in any way be taken as a rejection of David because indeed your family is going to build the house for me, David is going to be your son. I will establish his kingdom, he will build a house for my name that promise, and lastly David will have a house, a kingdom, and a throne forever.

I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever at the end of verse 13. I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me. The promises continue on even if he commits an inequity I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but my loving kind shall not depart from him as I took it away from Saul when I removed – who I removed from before you. You note the settled fact of this, it is an unconditional covenant, it is not conditioned for example upon Solomon’s obedience. Saul disobeyed, God cut off the kingdom from his house. So basically David is appointed as the next king of Israel years before Saul formally gives up the position of king. And then we have that period where David only rules over part of the desert, the line of Saul was done, with Saul for all intents and purposes, but God says I will never do that to your son.

If he is disobedient verse 14, I will correct him, but my loving kindness won’t depart from him like I did from Saul or like I did from Saul. Saul was disobedient, that was it. Remember he was told to go and kill all the Amalekites; he saved the king of Amalekites and all the best of the livestock and so on. That’s it for that act of disobedience you are done. You know what he says about Solomon even if he disobeys me, I won’t bring an end to your line, I won’t reject it, you may say that doesn’t seem fair. Well remember God is never obligated to show mercy, you can’t be obligated to show mercy because if you are obligated to do it then it’s not mercy. God always acts in justice, but he will not always act in mercy, that’s why people will spend eternity in hell because they will drink of the cup mixed in full strength, Revelation 14, not any mercy mixed in. God will be meeting out pure perfect justice. Why does he do this? I don’t know. Why didn’t he give Saul repeated chance? I don’t know because he is God and I am not and he decided after counseling with himself, within the God, this is what he was doing, he accepted the counsel of his own, he counsels with himself on these things. So it’s not that God is being unfair, he simply punished Saul for his disobedience, removed the kingdom from his line forever, but when Solomon is disobedient and it seems like his disobedience is every bit as severe because he will go and worship other Gods. God says I will rebuke him, but I will not bring an end to the line, great promise given here to the line of David.

Look over in Second Samuel Chapter 23, Second Samuel Chapter 23. The last words of David is prepare for the death of David. Look down in verse 5 just for time. David speaking here, remember that verse starts out David the son Jesse declares the man who was raised on high declares the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel down to verse 5 truly is not my house, so with God for he has made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered in all things and secured. For all my salvation and my desire will he not indeed make it grow, he has made an everlasting covenant, he secured it. The covenant settled and fixed by God himself, any failure in this was just not an option because God would have to fail. So for David it’s a settled thing. We have to take a moment and come over to psalm 89, psalm 89 and here David the covenant that God made with David is talked about written by David, but it’s about David and the covenant God made with him. We just have to pick up parts of this.

Verse 3, God speaking I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations and this is the Lord’s to do to verse 11 speaking of the Lord, the heavens are yours, the earth also is yours, the world and all it contains you have founded them. Verse 14, righteousness and justice are foundation of your throne, loving kindness and truth go before you, the sovereign you see he can do according to his will. He can reject Saul for his disobedience and chasten but not reject a Solomon.

Verse 20, I have found David my servant with my holy oil I have anointed him though my hand will be established, my arm also will strengthen him. Down to verse 26, he will cry to me you are my father, my God, the rock of my salvation. I will make him my first born, the highest of the kings of the earth, my loving kindness I will keep for him forever, my covenant shall be confirmed to him. So I will establish his descendants forever, his throne as the days of heaven. Down to verse 30 if his sons forsake my law -- that David’s sons forsake my law, do not walk in my judgments, if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments then I will punish their transgression with the rod, their iniquity with stripes, but I will not break off my loving kindness from him nor deal falsely in my faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate nor will I alter the utterance of my lips. Once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David; his descendants shall endure forever his throne as the son before me. It will be established wherever like the moon and the witness and the sky is faithful. Could God be any clearer?

Now we move through this keep in mind what we have said and it will become clear even as we move through the rest of this section on Davidic covenant. The promises to David are inseparably joined to the physical nation Israel. I am aware that the son of David, the greater son Jesus Christ will be king over all the earth, but these promises to David are tied inseparably to the promises, to the physical nation Israel. Just like the Davidic covenant is tied inseparably to God’s covenant with Abraham and you begin to discard portions of the covenant, find reasons to cancel them out and everything collapses, this covenant stands and falls with God alone. There’s going to be disobedience, the disobedient will have to be punished, but God says the covenant cannot fail. I am the one who was sworn, so disobedience cannot annul the covenant. The ultimate fulfillment of the covenant will be in Jesus Christ who is a descendant of David.

You are in psalm keep going you are in Isaiah Chapter 9, Isaiah Chapter 9 and this is about Jesus Christ and he quotes the first part of this during his earthly ministry and applies it to himself. Down in verse 6 we pick it up, a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us, the government will rest upon his shoulders, his name will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, eternal father, prince of peace. There will be no end to the increase of his government of peace on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it, to uphold with justice. From then on and forever more the zeal of the Lord of host will accomplish this. So that throne is an eternal throne, well say see then it doesn’t just include Israel, so whether Israel has any future now we will see as we go through is inseparably joined just like it doesn’t matter the line of – you know say well it doesn’t matter if Christ is of the line of David or not – I mean he is God’s son that will be enough? No. To fulfill the covenantal promises he had to be a physical descendant of David.

You are here Chapter 11 of Isaiah then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. Jesse is the father of David, so here we are one in the Davidic line. The spirit of the Lord will rest on him and so on. Well all very familiar messianic passage. Down in verse 6, the wolf will dwell with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the young goat, the calf of the young lion and the fatling together. A little boy will lead them, the cow and the bear will graze, the young will lie down together, the lion will eat straw like the ox, the nursing child will play on the hole of the cobra, the whining child will put his hand on the viper’s den, they will not hurt or destroy. And all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea, this is not some kind of spiritualized allegory. This is the actual physical kingdom on this physical earth.

One passage in the New Testament Luke Chapter 1, we will be talking about the kingdom when we get into First Corinthians 15 later in our studies. Luke Chapter 1 verse 32 some connection with the prophesied birth of Christ that will be coming soon. Verse 32 he will be great , he will be called the son of the most high, the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end. I only say Jesus Christ is not sitting on the throne of David today. We saw the description of the kingdom in Isaiah. It’s our literal earthly kingdom involving the animals as well as the people, so they will try to sat well as a result of the death and resurrection Jesus is now seated at the right hand of the father and that is Davidic throne – that is not the Davidic throne. Who said it’s the Davidic throne? God didn’t say it. You understand was enthroned in the heavens before he ever came to earth Isaiah six I saw the Lord, lofty and exalted sitting on his throne, and the train of his robe filled and on it goes.

John Chapter 12 verse 41 tells us Isaiah wrote that when he saw his glory, Christ’s glory. Jesus Christ was enthroned in the heavens before he ever came to earth, but that wasn’t the Davidic throne. He sits on the throne of the universe in that sense, it’s not the Davidic throne, I say that because people now have Christ supposedly sitting on a Davidic, so the kingdom has begun and so now we are in all kind of problems, and how we are going to deal with social conditions and well parts of it – well is there a future for Israel? I think so and what are we doing, we are in the kingdom, shouldn’t we resolving certain of these things and doing certain things and he is not on the Davidic throne. All the world will know when Jesus Christ is sitting on the Davidic throne. The kingdom will not start, that promised kingdom until Christ returns to earth the second time.

Come back to First Samuel 7, First Samuel 7 and encourage you to read through this second particularly picking up with verse 8 down through the end of the chapter and reread sometime this week and highlight it, underline it, note the emphases that pervades verse 18 David’s response. David the king went in and sat before the Lord.

Nathan came to him in verse 17 and told him here’s what the Lord said. David is overwhelmed. David the king went in and sat before the Lord and said who am I O Lord God, what is my house that you have brought me this far, and yet this was insignificant – I mean you have brought me here. Now I sit on throne of Israel, but that was not enough in your eyes. You wanted to do more for me. For you have spoken also of the house of your servant concerning the distant future. And this is the custom of man O Lord God, again what more can David say to you for you know your servant O Lord God. For the sake of your word and according to your own heart, you have done all this greatness to let your servant know. For this reason you are great O Lord God, there is none like you, there is no God beside according to all we have heard with our ears. David’s realizes God’s kindness toward him is not because of anything in David. Not because I am a better man than Saul. It’s not at last you found somebody good.

Verse 21, for the sake of your word and according to your own heart you have done all this greatness to let your servant know. There’s no other explanation for this. But you decided in yourself to do this. What can I say? I am humbled by it, I am overwhelmed and you are not only promised me, but you promised my line, my descendants that it will not end, and you have done it because you have decided to do it. You are totally unique.

Verse 22, you are great O Lord God, there’s none like you. No God besides you. Now note here in verse 23 and 24. Remember we said the promises to David are inseparably bound up to the choice of Israel as God’s people. What one nation on the earth is like your people Israel who God went to redeem for himself as a people, note this to make a name for himself and to do a great thing for you, and awesome things for your land? Before your people whom you have redeemed for yourself from Egypt, you brought – called these people to yourself, so that they could reveal your name and your greatness. You have established for yourself your people Israel. Now note this as your own people forever, and you O Lord have become their God. The promises of God regarding Israel, the covenant that God entered into with Abraham and thus Abraham’s physical descendants cannot be violated. Then we read about what God said about his covenant with David in Psalm 89 – I mean you just can’t say well Israel didn’t do right. Well Solomon didn’t either and subsequent descendants of David did worse. The line of David is not over because God said forever the descendants of Abraham have a covenant that cannot be violated.

Remember when the covenant was established well it’s a sign of circumcision in Genesis 17 Abraham went to sleep and God passed through the divided animals. It all depends on him, just like David’s line when they sin I will rebuke them, I will discipline them, I will punish them, but I never reject them, can’t go back of my covenant. You have established for yourself, your people Israel as your own people forever. We ought to be greatly offended that anyone who claims to be the bible would say that God has cast away his people. Has God cast away his people? The people that he foreknew, may it never be! Such a thought is inconceivable, the very character of God is at stake in this. So God has established Israel as his people forever.

And back in verse 16, God has promised David your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever, your throne will be established forever and that connection Israel, the physical descendants of Abraham will endure forever.

Verse 25, now therefore O Lord God the word that you have spoken concerning your servant in his house confirm it forever, do as you have spoken that your name may maybe magnified forever, you see David believes that the promises of God regarding the nation Israel, the promises regarding David in his line are inseparably joined to the honor of the Lord and in fulfilling these promises to Israel and to David’s line his name, God’s name is magnified forever. Note this that your name maybe magnified forever by saying the Lord of host is God over Israel and may the house of your servant David be established before you. David sees the two as inseparable, for God to cast away his people Israel would mean the promises to David are nothing. They are inseparably joined together and it is all tied to the honor of the name of the Lord and his name is magnified in keeping his promises to Israel and to David. For you O Lord of host, the God of Israel have made a revelation to your servants saying I will build you a house. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.

Now O Lord God you are God and your words are truth, it’s very clear, you read through this section, reread it -- reread it -- reread it, fix it in your mind. For David the promises of God to the nation Israel are now the promises to him and his family are inseparably joined together. And the fact that God is God and his words are truth, guarantees their fulfillment. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you, for you O Lord God have spoken and with your blessing may the house of your servant be blessed forever. The honor of God is at stake, if I take it I am greatly offended when people imply that God is done with the nation Israel. That is an attack on the very character of God, why you don’t understand we are the spiritual Israel. If there ever was theological rubbish that has to be it, has God cast away his people, the people that he foreknew? Such a thought is inconceivable, his name is magnified in honoring his promises towards his people, but they were unfaithful, so is David’s line. Get to that if the Lord doesn’t come. We look at Solomon here he is worshipping other Gods, the Gods of the wives that he multiplied doesn’t end his line and you have some of the rulers that descend to the Davidic throne. There’s nothing admirable in them, but God said that won’t bring an end to the promises.

Okay I have a few things to summarize this. I will move through them quickly, relatively quickly. In the first three verses God honors zeal for himself. It’s good that in his prosperity David didn’t forget the Lord, he didn’t get so caught up with himself, you think well he should have thought of building the house of the Lord before he build his own palace. No David wasn’t out of line here, God never intended David to build the palace, but you know it’s good in his prosperity his focus is on the Lord. He hasn’t been taken up with his prosperity. He has become blinded, by why he is where he is. Secondly we must be submissive to the will of God, you know David’s plan was not God’s and he had to accept that. It’s not I am going to do this for the Lord because I just want to do this for the Lord, no I want to do what the Lord wants me to do. And it wasn’t the Lord’s will for David to build the house. So no matter how great a plan he thought that would be, no matter what a great honor and he did because if he can’t build the house he wants to at least be able to gather the supplies that will be necessary to build it. But the Lord said you can’t build the house, that settles it I can’t build the house all right.

Third God’s covenants guarantee a future for the nation Israel. We are not going to go back to the verses here. In the Abrahamic covenant, out of the Abrahamic covenant the Palestinians covenant, the Davidic covenant, the new covenant – I don’t know how else God could do it –I mean against the covenant with Abraham and that cannot be violated. Then he reinforces all its major aspects by establishing a specific covenant that guarantees the privileges that already, provisions that have already been guaranteed by the Abrahamic covenant and elaborates on it. God’s covenants with Israel are inviolable; we come under a provision of that because the Abrahamic covenant provides for salvation blessings for all nations. That in no way takes away from the unique and special promises to the physical descendants of Abraham.

Fourthly God’s covenant guarantees the throne to the line of David, I have got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight – at least nine or 10 verses just in this section where he repeats that again and again and again. A fifth point I have sovereign grace is based in himself and not its recipients verse 21. For the sake of your word according to your own heart you have done this greatness. Reminds me of Ephesians Chapter 1 that he chose us according to the counsel of his own will, why? Why you, why me, why David, why David and not Saul? David has no other explanation and except you decided this in your own heart within yourself. And for the sake of the word that you promised, you do it because the character of God is at stake. Because he is God and his words must be true.

You know David’s prayer here beginning verse 25 down through verse 29 is a good model for our prayers. You know what David comes to? He comes and is bold to besiege God to fulfill his word, to do what he promised. That’s a good reminder for us our prayers. You know the Lord has given us great promises and I can come with those promises and lay them before the Lord and Lord you and your mercy and grace. Not because I am worthy because I am anything like David said who am I that you brought me this far and now you are going to have blessings on that and give me promises that go beyond me to my descendants. I don’t come with arrogance or with humility; I can come and say God you have given me these promise. You say you have given me everything necessary for life and Godliness. What I claim though is mine; I want to live in light those. Though you promised that someday you will bring me into the glory of your presence and Lord I anticipate that. I know you will honor your word, fills my heart with anticipation and joy and gladness. You are a God who keeps his word and I have been unfaithful so often, but your faithfulness is unchanging, and come and talk to my God, and bring before him the promises that he has given that’s what God does to –

David does with God here verse 25. Now therefore O Lord God the word that you have spoken concerning your servant in his house confirm it forever, just as you have spoken. What I am only asking to do – you to do what you have said you will do. I have acknowledged I am not worthy, you know we pray according to the will of God, what a better to know the will of God? Come to his word and here’s what he said. And so Lord I just want to bring before you what you promised and claim that and live in light of it, you know God’s word partakes of God’s character, and so we have the full unshakable confidence to so do what he said.

Look at verse 28, now O Lord God, you are God, your words are truth. I said you are God your words are truth. God said it that settles it, I believe in – I mean that’s it. He is God, his word is truth, you have promised this to your servant. So now I ask you to bless me because that’s what you promised you would do and I want to pray within your will. So Lord I just want you to do as you promised. We have a covenant keeping God, we ought to be glad because you know our salvation blessings come under the provision of the new covenant which is the elaboration of that and you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Your salvation blessings for Israel and for us, non Israelites and we partake of the communion this cup is the new covenant in my blood. And that provision of salvation for gentiles. I am glad God has a covenant keeping God, but I know Lord your grace bestowed on me as a gentile is part of your marvelous plan for your people Israel. And I am humble to know that you would include me. I am not a physical descendant of Abraham, I am foreign and alien to all the covenants of promise and yet you have included me in the covenant of salvation blessing. You have extended it out to envelope me, how wonderful! How grateful we must be as the gentiles. I hope you are glad God will fulfill his word to the Jews because that covenant keeping God, that’s our hope, he is God, his word is truth and his promises to us will be true too. Let’s pray to God.

Thank you Lord for these promises to David. Reading all of this, we consider the history of Israel; we are reminded of your sovereign control in the history of this world right down to today. How marvelous in your purposes and plans for your people Israel are unchanged. Even as they experience discipline, rebuke, punishment for their disobedience in no way nullifies the covenant promises you made for them. Some day they will be gathered as a nation, some day your son will rule and reign on the throne of David. Some day we who have believed in him will share in the kingdom that you have promised as characterized by righteousness and a full knowledge of you the living God. Lord may our service for you be energized by the reality that we are people who are partaking of eternal promises make us diligence about your service in the days before is in Christ’s name, Amen!