This week we take our last look in this series of messages on what it means to be God’s covenant people. And I think it is the most exciting. In fact, I wish it were Christmas Eve and we were looking at this message, so our hearts would be racing and our anticipation would be high. This message, more than anything we’ve studied thus far, is going to create in us a permanent link in the Old and New Testaments. I think we are going to see, possibly more clearly than at any other time in our lives, the continuity of the Old and New Testaments.
To remind you of what we have looked at thus far, let me review the past three Sundays. We looked at God’s covenant with Noah three weeks ago, then God’s covenant with Abraham—that God would bless all the earth through his descendant, then God’s covenant through Moses, and this week we are going to look at God’s covenant through David.
I have pointed out that you see the progress of redemption in these covenants. As we look at them more and more, it begins to pan out what it will mean to be the covenant people of God. And as we study them, it seems to progress our thought in looking for a Messiah. The covenant we will look at today does just that.
God comes to David and establishes (or renews) a covenant with him and his people. He tells him that he will have a great name, that they will have a place to dwell, and that they will have rest from all their enemies. The pinnacle of the covenant, however, is in verses 12-16. In these verses God declares that he will raise up David’s descendant and establish a kingdom. He says that his son would build a house for him (the temple) and that God would establish the throne of is kingdom forever. And again he says, “And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (v. 16).
Now, in some sense Solomon was the son of David partially fulfilling this covenant. He was from David and sat on the throne. In fact, 2nd Chronicles begins in verse 1 saying, “Now Solomon the son of David established himself securely over his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him and exalted him greatly.” And Solomon was the one who built the temple, the house for the Lord. So in some sense it was Solomon that fulfilled parts of this covenant.
However, I believe that when David communicated this covenant to the people, they were left saying, “How can Solomon fulfill this?” After all, verses 13 and 16 talk about God establishing his throne over the kingdom forever. Therefore, for Solomon to fulfill this, he would have had to have lived forever. And I’m sure there were some who thought he might. However, at least at the time of his death, they were looking for another.
As their enemies came against them and the kingdom was being threatened and a line of evil kings were sitting on the throne, they begin to seek a divine fulfillment. They began to long for this son of David who would sit on the throne forever. In fact, they began looking for a divine fulfillment of this covenant. Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and 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 or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
In those verses Isaiah’s cry to the people was, “God will accomplish His covenant. He will do it himself.” It appears that Isaiah and others were beginning to realize that when God spoke certainly about the fulfillment of a covenant and yet also gave conditions, then they could be sure that God himself would fulfill those conditions. That is what Isaiah says will happen.
And so the people are longing and hoping and praying and yearning for this divine child to be born to sit on the throne of the kingdom forever.
If you read or teach the Old Testament correctly, then at the end of it, you or your students should be saying, “So if God promised Abraham that through his son all the earth would be blessed and promised David that his son would sit on the throne forever, and they died, then what does God do? How did God fulfill his covenant? How will it be fulfilled? Does God send this divine fulfillment of which Isaiah spoke?”
Then, as they are hanging and thinking and yearning for what is the answer, you will begin your New Testament course (or reading) with Matthew 1:1. “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.” It was Jesus. The son of Abraham and the son of David was Jesus. He is the son of Abraham through whom the whole earth will be blessed. He is the son of David who will reign on the throne of an everlasting kingdom. This is the mystery that was hidden for generations.
Can you imagine an individual who was longing to understand the truths of the Old Testament and longing for this one of whom Isaiah wrote receiving this letter from Matthew and reading the first sentence. Can you imagine the chills running down his spine as it all becomes clear. The Messiah has come! The divine fulfillment is here! O, that is better than Christmas—well, that is Christmas.
Jesus Christ is the son of David. He will sit on the throne of an everlasting kingdom.
I said that people were longing for this. One such text that shows this is Matthew 12:23. Some people had brought a demon-possessed man to Jesus who was blind and couldn’t speak, and Jesus healed them. Listen to the crowd’s response. “And all the multitudes were amazed, and began to say, ‘This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?’” Their reaction was one of wondering if this was the one of which Isaiah prophesied. He was, and he is.
In fact, when the angel came to Mary to tell her that she would bear a son, he said, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end” (Luke 1:31-33).
Jesus, himself, speaks much about the Christ being the son of David. In Mark 12:35-37 he says, “How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? David himself said in the Holy Spirit, ‘The Lord said to my Lord sit at my right hand, until I put thine enemies beneath thy feet.’ And David himself calls Him ‘Lord’’ and so in what sense is He his Son?” And Mark writes, “And the great crowd enjoyed listening to Him.” They were marveling at Jesus addressing the mystery of God fulfilling the covenant with his son and his son simultaneously being a descendant of David.
Therefore on that morning in Bethlehem, the son of Abraham, the son of David, the divine child who would save God’s people from their sins—He was born into the world.
So, seeing the last covenant renewal which God makes with David in 2nd Samuel 7, what can we see more about our salvation? Let me point out a few things.
When Jesus came, the king came and so did the kingdom.
Do you remember Jesus’ announcement when he comes preaching? Mark 1:15 records him saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” While at the same time, there is much discussion of awaiting the kingdom. In Matthew 13, Jesus gives many analogies of what the kingdom of heaven is like and he shows us that we are awaiting the kingdom.
Therefore, as I have argued more extensively from preaching on the first three verses of Acts 1, I believe the kingdom is here in the sense that we get glimpses now of what it is like in heaven. There is complete healing there. Here at times, God heals to show us his kingdom, however not always and never permanent (I mean by saying this that we will die). There we will know as we are known. Here at times God gives us a word of prophecy or knowledge and yet we do not know as we want. There we will be completely free from our will. Here when someone is saved, God frees them from their will in order that they might choose him, and yet we battle continually with our will. In this way I mean that the kingdom is here—somewhat.
So I would add a word of caution here. Do not fall off either side of the horse on this one. Don’t think that the kingdom is here and we should never battle with temptation and should always be healthy and should have all knowledge. Nor, however, ignore the fact that because of Christ’s coming and the Spirit being poured out that we get glimpses of the kingdom with occasional healing, prophecy, and most of all when someone is born again.
Again, I point this out so we will understand the grace we have been shown. If it were not for God’s mercy in allowing his people to come from the Gentiles as well, we would have no hope of heaven. After all, the people over whom David was king was the Jews.
But listen to the glorious words of Acts 15:14-17 as the disciples meet to discuss the inclusion of the Gentiles into this covenant. “And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, ‘Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name, and with this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, in order that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by name.’”
We are included in the everlasting kingdom of heaven. I am floored by this. And it leads me to my next statement.
Romans 8:29-30 says, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined … and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” God has justified us so we will be a part of his kingdom. And why? Because God called us. But why? Because he predestined us. But why? Because he foreknew us. But why? It was just grace. This should melt our hearts.
After God told David that the throne would be held by one of his descendants, David says in 2nd Samuel 7:18, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou hast brought me this far?”
This should be our response to understanding that we are part of the kingdom. God is so good. God’s mercies should send us to have deep, affectionate love for him. This should drive you to your knees. That is the goal of studying all this. We do not study such doctrine simply to understand it better but so that we ask, “Why are you so good to me, O God?” and fall on your knees worshipping and loving him. God is so good to us as his people.
In verse 23 of 2 Samuel seven David says, “And what one nation on the earth is like Thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do a great thing for Thee and awesome things for Thy land, before Thy people whom Thou hast redeemed for Thyself from Egypt, from nations and their gods?”
God redeemed Israel out of slavery and a love for other gods. He did the same thing for us. When we get all excited about this son of David coming, let us not forget that he came to give his life to redeem us. It cost Jesus his life to come and ensure that the covenant is fulfilled.
In fact, this thought is why so many Jews rejected him as the Christ. They did not realize that their king would have to give his life for them. But don’t forget either that God raised him from the dead and so he is still king over an everlasting kingdom. Nor should we forget that though the world looks dark and grim, Revelation 11:15 tells us that on that day when he returns that the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of our Christ, our Messiah, our King.
May we allow the understanding of the truth we have seen in these past four weeks drive us to deeply and affectionately love and worship the one who has fulfilled the conditions of the covenant that we might be the covenant people of God. Amen.