The Lord’s Covenant with David

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 7:11b-17

11b Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

We continue in the passage describing God’s efforts, His plans to build a house, an empire for David, through his lineage. What started out as a well intentioned dream to build a temple for God, becomes God’s plans to build the church through the Son of David.

A continual refrain throughout this passage is the “foreverness” of the kingdom God will establish through the line of David.

But David would have to pass away, enter into death, prior to the realization of this kingdom. And so he entered the grave for a thousand years, waiting to see his Son arrive on the scene. Waiting after multiple sons came and went on the throne, eventually becoming corrupt and worthy of the discipline spoken of above.

This covenant with David (the Davidic Covenant) spoke of the Lord’s training of David’s lineage, and though privileged highly, would not escape the need for discipline when the king sins.

It is not a given that all David’s sons sin, for the passage speaks of discipline “when” those in the house of David sin. As a lineage that had the inherent capacity to veer from obedience to the Father, this inevitably became a reality in each of David’s sons.

Until One came on the scene who obeyed. He obeyed the law, fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law, and was not required to suffer for His own disobedience. Yet He suffered, a terrible beating, a whipping that should have in itself killed the Man, and then the humiliation and suffering of being nailed to a cross, experiencing the taunting, the ridicule, the helplessness of His experience, the abandonment!

He was disciplined “with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men”, but not for His own iniquity, for He was spotless. His suffering was vicarious, in our place, for our rebellion and sinfulness.

Yet there is a portion of this passage that makes me stop and think.

When Nathan is told that God “will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son” gives me no pause. Surely there was never a father /son relationship that was clearer, cleaner and consistently based from love than that of the Father and the Son.

What shocks me is that the next verse speaks that the father’s “steadfast love will not depart from him.”

A verse to consider that may impact this promise.

Matthew 27:46 …Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Even in the Father’s abandonment of the Messiah on the cross, as the Messiah cries out to His Father of abandonment, are we to consider this equal to the Father removing steadfast love from Him.

Can this abandonment, this turning of the Father away from the Son while He carries our sins, can this be combined in the heart of God. Can the Father turning from the Son, and the Father’s everlasting love for the Son be one and the same? Is the love of the Father large enough, complex enough, committed enough to allow pain to enter the Son for the sake of the outcome?

Hebrews 12:2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

The depths of God’s love for His Son is beyond us, and will always be beyond our understanding. Thankfully we do not need to understand everything that happened that horrible day. We simply need to accept the truth of the One who hung for our sins, and that rose from the dead, providing us salvation and security!

He is the Great Son of David, the One who has established the forever Kingdom God promised David.

---

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

Come join us at Considering the Bible