Transcribed from the Words of Life Radio Program.
Thank you for listening to these Words of Life radio broadcasts. Wherever you are I am thankful for your presence through your listening. The title for the lesson is: “Your Kingdom Will Endure Forever.” And our primary text is taken from Second Samuel in the Old Testament the book of Second Samuel chapter 7 verses 12 through 16.” A very important passage. Listen to the Word of God.
This is the LORD speaking as Samuel wrote concerning David and his royal dynasty. “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men, but my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me. Your throne will be established forever.”
Almighty God has made many promises in scripture. In a more formal and prominent way a few of these promises are referred to as covenants. Our topic today is concerning the Davidic Covenant given to King David of Israel.
Christians in the 21st century church may wonder what does the Davidic covenant revealed thousands of years ago addressed to Israel have to do with Christians today? Stay tuned this answer is coming.
The context for our study, our study passage, Second Samuel chapter 7 verses 12 through 16, which is just a small portion of this important subject is that God promised a ruling dynasty through David. Not that this ruling dynasty would continue uninterrupted but that it would eventually continue forever. Our text refers to what would happen after David’s death covenanted by God.
Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 12 “When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.”
Note the preceding verse ending of Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 11 “The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish as house for you.” Meaning that the LORD Himself, unconditionally, would establish a royal house, a dynasty of kings from David’s blood line descendants. According to scholars, from King David to King Zedekiah the last king of his line who ruled, was a royal dynasty of 415 years.
For some perspective, the longest lasting royal house reign over England and Wales was the Plantagenet Dynasty for 245 years by way of eight kings. David’s house included 21 kings and 415 years.
The promise that David and his seed would be kings fulfilled the even more ancient Abrahamic Covenant the blessing that the patriarchs would be the forefathers of kings prophesied long, long before David. Listen to Genesis chapter 17 and verses 5 through 7 “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.” Let’s continue in our text Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 13 “He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.”
Again, as students of scripture we need to understand the context. Consider Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 7 which are the words of the LORD reported to David. “Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, ‘Why have you not built me a house of cedar?’” Also, listen to a parallel passage in the same context in First Chronicles chapter 22 and verse 6 and following “Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon: ‘My son, I had it in my heart to build a house for the name of the LORD my God. But this word of the LORD came to me: ‘You have shed much blood and I have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest form all of his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’”
Therefore, putting of this all together there are three points to understand regarding Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 13. First: “the one who will build” is Solomon, the immediate son of David. Secondly: “build a house for my name” means a literal house (or first temple) for the Lord. Thirdly: “and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” refers to the greatest Son of David meaning Messiah-King to come. Now it’s the next verse that’s troublesome until properly understood.
Second Samuel chapter 7 verse 14A “I will be his father, and he will be my son.” We need to understand that originally in the Bible manuscripts there were no verse divisions nor any punctuation! These were added by translators hundreds of years later. Listen to the last part of what is to us verse 13 and the first part of verse 14. It would read: And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever I will be his father and he will be my son. All of that refers to Messiah-King the one and only Son of God who was to come.
Second Samuel chapter 7 verse 14B “when he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men.”
This portion refers, or this phrase, this verse, this refers to the immediate, temporal King Solomon and all his house of successive Davidic kings. Why? Because the Son of God Messiah the Christ never ever did wrong, He never sinned.
Second Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 21 in the New Testament confirms this “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
It’s helpful to know that many biblical prophecies have a dual meaning. There is an immediate meaning, and there is an ultimate meaning. From the perspective of the prophets, of course, it was often difficult to untie the two, but they remain distinct. This is illustrated by seeing a mountain range in the distance. When you first notice it, you might see two peaks, seemingly right next to each other. Yet it’s only as you get closer to the mountain range that you discover that these peaks are miles apart. The immediate son of David, Solomon, sinned as did all of his royal descendants and therefore were disciplined by God. Nevertheless, God will always keep this unconditional covenant or promise to David regarding his royal dynasty. Only Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, Messiah-King never sinned.
This is confirmed regarding the Davidic line in Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 15 “But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.”
The Davidic Covenant remains intact today and forever in the person of David’s greatest Son, even Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus the Son of God. This is repetitively emphasized.
Second Samuel chapter 7 and verse 16 “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” Note four key words: house, kingdom, throne, forever.
Now consider in the New Testament Luke chapter 1 verses 32 and 33 which says “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” Clearly: “the throne,” “the house,” “his kingdom,” “forever” would all be perfectly fulfilled by Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God.
That ultimate outcome is guaranteed by Almighty God. Yes, Christ is reigning in heaven now, but He will also return to this earth to reign literally, physically on David’s throne on this earth. “It is written” Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 7 “of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.”
So, how does the Davidic Covenant given thousands of years ago have the personal application to Christians today?
At least by two monumental truths.
- The greatest son, the greatest descendant of David is not only the King of kings, not only God’s uniquely ‘Anointed One’ the Messiah (the Christ) but manifestly the Son of God in His divinity and the Son of Man in His humanity, our Savior; truly God, truly man, our substitute who died for our sin and was raised out from amongst the dead. The Davidic Covenant guaranteed the God-man our Savior!
- In this world is there peace? Is there peace between nations? Is there peace within nations? Is there even peace within families? Is there consistent justice? Is there consistent righteousness? Has there ever been since sin entered planet earth? Peace and justice and righteousness? No, there hasn’t been. But when Jesus Christ comes for those who enter the millennial reign which will only be saved people. Some in their natural bodies but many in their glorified bodies. Those with the glorified bodies, they will be consistently just, consistently righteous and they have peace with God because they are glorified. They are in their resurrected bodies, perfected ones by God. Yes, it is true there will be people born during the Millennium and there comes the rub later at the end of the thousand years. But that’s another lesson.
When it says regarding the Davidic Covenant “Your kingdom will endure forever” means Jesus Christ is returning and will change forever all the wrongs to establish pure righteousness, and complete justice. And in Christ all believers will enjoy Christ’s perfect kingdom reign forever. And these are tremendous truths and promises from the Living God.
David Johnson is minister of the Sellersburg Church of Christ in Sellersburg, IN.