The Davidic Covenant | A Sermon on 2 Samuel 7:1-17

Introduction
One of the things I love about Dalton is being able to look east and see Fort Mountain pointing toward the sky.  You can clearly see it even though it’s 20 miles away.  Driving there takes about 30 minutes because there’s a lot of twists and turns on the way.  Though you can clearly see the mountain peak, there’s a lot you can’t see between us and the mountain.

That’s the way God’s story in the Bible is too.  There are mountain peak moments that are easy to see, but then there’s a lot of twists and turns in between.  The five covenants of God we’ve been studying highlight the mountain peaks of Scripture.

I challenge you to memorize these five covenants.  In the beginning of the story, Adam and Eve disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit, which caused them to fall out of relationship with God.  And the fall inflicted deep and deadly spiritual wounds upon them and all creation, corrupting the nature of everything that God started as perfect.  But God didn't give up on us.  Over the course of thousands of years, God set about rescuing humanity and creation from sin.  The five covenants are the main steps of that process.  Starting with Noah, God sent a flood to wash away the world and start over.  Then, God called Abraham to leave his homeland and go to the promised land where God would multiply his discendents into a great nation and make Abraham a blessing to all the world.  Then, in the Mosaic covenant, God gave His rules for living to a chosen people to the Israeltes so they would serve as God's representatives so the whole world would know Him.  Today, we will learn about the Davidic Covenant. and next week we will study the New Covenant through Jesus Christ.

2 Samuel 7:1-2
¹ When King David was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all the surrounding enemies, ² the king summoned Nathan the prophet. “Look,” David said, “I am living in a beautiful cedar palace, but the Ark of God is out there in a tent!”

What is David talking about here?  You may remember that when God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt they became nomads wandering in the dessert, God chose to live in a tent too.  He instructed the Israelites to build Him a sacred tent called the Tabernacle where they could meet God and worship Him.  But by David's time, the people lived in cities with houses.  But God still lived in a tent.  So David thought, "That's not right.  God needs a house."

But something else may have been going on too.  David was worried about his legacy.  And when he looked around at the kings of the surrounding territories--Egypt and Mesopotamia--these royal families built great monuments and temples.  David was trying to secure his legacy by doing the same thing.  S David says, "I will build my God a temple too."

2 Samuel 7:3-17
³ Nathan replied to the king, “Go ahead and do whatever you have in mind, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But that same night the Lord said to Nathan,

⁵ “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord has declared: Are you the one to build a house for me to live in? ⁶ I have never lived in a house, from the day I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until this very day. I have always moved from one place to another with a tent and a Tabernacle as my dwelling. ⁷ Yet no matter where I have gone with the Israelites, I have never once complained to Israel’s tribal leaders, the shepherds of my people Israel. I have never asked them, “Why haven’t you built me a beautiful cedar house?”’

⁸ “Now go and say to my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. ⁹ I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever lived on the earth! ¹⁰ And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel, planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, ¹¹ starting from the time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

“‘Furthermore, the Lord declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! ¹² For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. ¹⁴ I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. ¹⁵ But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. ¹⁶ Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”

¹⁷ So Nathan went back to David and told him everything the Lord had said in this vision.

What’s Really Going On?
Just on the surface of things, this is already a fascinating Word from the Lord.  David wants to build God a house.  That’s no small thing!  How do you build a “house” for the infinite, almighty God of the universe.  Issaiah 66:1 says, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.  Where is the house you will build for me?”  God doesn’t need a house.  But we often want a house where we can put Him and keep Him and meet with Him (and maybe then walk away and keep somethings separate from Him for a little while).

God Humbles David
On the surface, God humbles David.  God reminds David of his humble beginnings as a shepherd. God took David from the fields and appointed him as the leader of His people.  David’s royal position is not of his own making but a result of God’s divine choice and guidance. Every one of David’s victories is a testament to God’s power.  God grounds David in humility, teaching him to rely on God rather than his own abilities or ambitions, and reinforcing that God is the true architect of Israel’s future.  (Don’t we all need to be reminded to be humble from time to time—to remember that our success—or failure—isn’t totally up to us.  Success comes for the faithful from God and God should receive the glory.)

God Establishes David’s Dynasty
But though this rebuke, God also establishes David’s dynasty.  God is gracious and, through some ironic wordplay, God basically says, “You’re not going to build me a house.  No, I’m going to build you a house!”  When David said house, he meant a temple but when God said house he meant would build David’s dynasty.

Verses 11-13 say, “[I] will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! ¹² For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. ¹³ He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name.”  And we know that is exactly what happened, just as God said.  David’s heir, Solomon, was the one who would build God’s Temple in Jerusalem.  But’s that’s just what’s happening on the surface.  Something deeper is also happening.

God Promises the Messiah
God is not just talking about David’s literal son Solomon here.  God is also talking about a “son” who will come from David’s royal lineage—the Messiah.  In verse 14, God says, “I will be his father, and he will be my son.”  Who is God’s son?  Jesus!

And in verse 13, God said, “And I will secure his royal throne forever.”  Who rules on the throne forever?  Jesus!

So on the surface, God is telling David that his son, Solomon, will build God’s Temple—which he did.  But on a deeper level, God is telling David (and everyone), another man will come out of David’s royal line whose Kingdom will last forever who will build God’s eternal Temple.  Jesus referred to this in the New Testament when His detractors demanded a sign and He said:  “Tear down this Temple and in three days I will rebuild it.  They thought He mean the physical Temple in Jerusalem and that he was crazy because the Temple took decades to build.  But Jesus was talking about His body.  And remember, that’s what happened:  they tore down Jesus’ body (the True Temple) and in three days, God raised it again. 

Will God Be Faithful?
This is quite a covenant promise!  Now, it is one thing to make a promise.  It is quite another to see it through.  Will God keep His covenant promise?  Let’s look at the history to see.

Things start out well.  David remains on the throne until his death from old age.  His son Solomon ascends to the throne, has a long peaceful and prosperous rule and also died of old age.  (Always a good thing for a king to die of old age and not after a rebellion or a enemy attack).  And, Solomon builds God’s Temple in Jerusalem.  Then, after Solomon, Israel has a civil war, but despite lots of struggles, a descendent of David’s royal line remains on the throne in Jerusalem (the southern Kingdom) for four centuries until the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem & the Temple in 586 BC and they dragged the Jews into exile.

“But, I thought God said David’s royal line would last forever.”  Yes.  That is God’s promise.  According to the Word of God, the Bible, the royal line of David did not end after Babylon destroyed Jerusalem.  Through the miraculous power of God, the line of David’s royal descendants
survived the exile of the Jews in Babylon and continued through the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments right down until Jesus was born. Jesus, the Messiah, was born of the virgin Mary, who was the last descendent of King David.  Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father, was also a descendent of David.  And fulfilling God’s covenant promise to David in 2 Samuel 7:14 when God said, “I will be his father, and he will be my son”, Jesus is the Son of God, conceived through the Holy Spirit.

That’s Quite a Story. Is it True?
That’s quite a story.  But is it true? [pause]
Well, that’s what you have to decide.  That is where faith comes in.  Do you believe it or not?

Some do not believe it.  Some think this is all just a myth, too incredible to be true.  Carl Marx said, “Religion is the opium of the people.”  In other words, Christianity is just a drug we use to dull the pain of suffering in an injustice world.  But I say, look at the transformative power of genuine faith in Christ. Rather than being a drug to dull the pain, Christianity addresses the root causes of human suffering—sin, brokenness, and alienation from God—and it offers hope, purpose, and redemption.

Looking back over the last 2,000 years since Christ was born, died on the cross, and rose again, we see the power of faith in His Eternal Kingdom.  It inspired Christians from Polycarp in 2^nd century Smyrna to Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1945 Nazi Germany to Martin Luther King, Jr in 1968 America to live by faith and stand up against tyranny and injustice and work to bring God’s Kingdom on Earth.  Against all odds, they stood up for truth and justice, grace and redemption, and they won!  Even in death, they won!  And faith in Christ has helped countless others boldly face the struggles like loneliness, the death of loved ones, illnesses like cancer and addiction, all in hopes of Christ’s eternal Kingdom to come.  And people who should be defeated and destroyed are victoriously renewed against all odds.  So yes!  I believe!

But, each person must decide.  Is it true?  Has God been faithful? 
Did He fulfill His covenant with David in Jesus?  Is Christ the Messiah? 
Is Jesus really Lord of all?  Is He really worthy of all the glory we give Him?

I believe it’s true.  It’s changed my life and is changing my life. 
I know I will spend eternity with God in the Kingdom of God forever.
I know I will see my friends and loved ones who died in Christ.
I know all that is wrong in our world will be made right.  We are already working on it.
And I know that those who reject Lord Jesus will spend eternity separated from God,
for only those who accept Him as Lord can enter into the Kingdom of God.

But that’s my faith.  What is yours?
Won’t you put your faith in Jesus today?  I pray you will.

Epochs of Israel - The Epoch of the Kings

Introduction
It is such a privilege to be a pastor.  I don’t know why God called me into ordained ministry, but I am so honored and thankful that He did.  And I am grateful to each person who allows me to speak God’s Word to them every week and to share in their important moments of life, to pray them, to encourage them, and to hope for God’s best for them.  Being a pastor has been one of the greatest blessings of my life.

God chose me to be a pastor.  It feels good to be chosen for this special purpose.  Today, I want you all to know, God has chosen you for a special purpose too.  I want to share that with you today.  But to help you recognize just how special it is, we must first recall some important history.  I hope you will stick with me to the end, so you can fully appreciate how special God’s personal message is for you.  Will you try? 

To review that history of Israel, we used the following responsive reading at my church. 

Pastor:  The Lord our God is mighty to save! He rescued Israel from Egypt through 10 plagues that proved Egypt’s idols were nothing. 

People:  At Mount Sinai, The Lord gave 10 commandments and the Law to teach Israel how to live and worship.

Pastor:  The Lord led Israel to conquer Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey.

People:  The Lord fought for Israel and they took possession of the Promised Land.

Pastor:  During the epoch of the Judges, Israel did not have a king like the other nations. God was Israel’s King.

People:  But the people sinned and did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

Pastor:  When Israel was unfaithful, their enemies oppressed them.  Then Israel would cry out to God for help.

People:  God showed mercy and raised up judges to fight and rescue Israel.

Pastor:  The people wanted a king like all the nations around them, but God was supposed to be Israel’s King.

People: “Anoint for us a king!” They cried. “Someone who is tall and mighty!”

Pastor:  So they anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel because he stood head and shoulders above the rest.

People:  But God was not pleased with Saul, because his heart was not right with God.

All:  And so the third Epoch of Israel begins—The Epoch of the Kings.

1 Samuel 16:1, 6-13

¹Now the Lord said to Samuel, “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel, so fill your flask with olive oil and go to Bethlehem. Find a man named Jesse who lives there, for I have selected one of his sons to be my king.”

⁶ When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!”

⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

⁸ Then Jesse told his son Abinadab to step forward and walk in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “This is not the one the Lord has chosen.” ⁹ Next Jesse summoned Shimea, but Samuel said, “Neither is this the one the Lord has chosen.” ¹⁰ In the same way all seven of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel. But Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen any of these.” ¹¹ Then Samuel asked, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse replied. “But he’s out in the fields watching the sheep and goats.”

“Send for him at once,” Samuel said. “We will not sit down to eat until he arrives.”

¹² So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes.

And the Lord said, “This is the one; anoint him.”

¹³ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah.

Israel’s Leadership Structure
There were three major roles in biblical Israel’s leadership structure.  First, there was the prophet.  The prophet's job was to speak to the people for God.  Usually when people think of a prophet, they think they were someone who told the future.  However, that wasn't the prophet's core function.  The prophet told people whatever God said.  Sometimes, God told prophets to tell people what was going to happen in the future.  But more often than not, God told the prophet to share commands, instructions, warnings, or consolations.  At any rate, the prophet's purpose was to ell people whatever God told the prophet to say.

The second role in Israel's leadership structure was the priest.  The priest's purpose was the opposite of the prophet.  The priest spoke to God for the people.  So for example, if someone had sinned as was sorry for it, they might go to a priest and the priest would make a sacrifice and speak to God on the person's behalf asking God to forgive them and heal them and restore them to a harmonious relationship with God.

The third role was the king. The king's purpose was to unite everyone in Israel in a common goal. In the beginning of Israel's history, they didn't have a earthly king because everyone accepted God was Israel’s King.  However, as Israel sunk deeper and deeper into sin, they followed God less and less as their King and they were more and more disunified in their common goal.  Israel's common goal was to bring light into the darkness of the world and healing into brokenness of our world. God told Israel's ancestor, Abraham, “All families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:3). Israel was supposed to bless the whole world. The greatest blessing was that they would reveal the one, true God to a world who was lost in sin and worshiping false gods. Exodus 19:6 says of the nation of Israel, “You will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.”  As a holy nation of priests in a dark and broken world, Israel was to bring spiritual healing, reconciliation, and peace to the whole world.

God chose Israel to show all the nations around them how to be in a right relationship with God.  They were to be the model everyone should copy.  But instead, Israel wanted to copy all the nations around them.  And soon they wanted an earthly king to lead and united them and make them "great" like all the other nations around them.

To be fair, you can’t bring light and healing if you are constantly being dominated by your enemies. Or can you? Consider Jesus dying on the cross while his enemies taunting him.  Unless you are a history expert, you probably remember the names of very few kings.  But almost everyone knows the name Jesus.  Jesus changed the whole world by dying on a cross while his enemies cursed him.  Jesus changed the world.  What a strange way to change the world!

However, God allowed Israel to have an earthly king as part of their leadership structure; but the king was only a figurehead to represent God to the people.  God was to continue to be Israel's true King.  That is why God chose David.  Scripture says David was a "man after God's own heart" (1 Samuel 13:14).  So with David on the throne, it was as if God's own heart was on the throne of Israel.

The Chosen Ones
Have you ever been rejected for something you really wanted or needed?  Most people are familiar with the scene of kids gathered around on the school playground at PE.  Two team captains go the kids and pick people to be on their team.  They usually select the strongest, fastest, most athletic kids first and nobody wants to be the last kid picked.  Were you ever the last kid picked?  Or were you ever passed over for a job or a promotion?

When I first graduated from college with a degree in textile engineering, I was ready to begin my career and I really needed a good job.  You see, I'd just learned my wife was pregnant and we had no money and have no insurance.  I was getting a lot of job interviews for great companies, but no job offers were coming.  Then a company in North Carolina invited me up for an interview.  I thought it was really promising because they invited me and my wife up and even put us up in a hotel for the night.  And I though, "If they're going to all that trouble, they must really be interested" So we drove up and spent the night at the hotel and the next day I got up and went in for the interview.  I was talking to the manager and things seemed to be going well until another candidate arrived.  He was taller than me and he had played college football for Clemson and the manager was a huge Clemson fan.  And from that point on, I was just along for the ride.  The manager was obviously in love with the other job candidate and I was just chopped liver.  So I wasn't too surprised when I was notified a few days later that I didn't get the job.

I'm glad I didn't get that job; my life could have gone in a very different direction if I'd moved to North Carolina to work.  I eventually did get a good job in Griffin, GA so I could take care of my young family and that eventually led me down the path to be a United Methodist minister.  I am very happy with my life as it turned out. But at that moment as a young 23-year-old, soon-to-be father, it was irritating to be rejected for what seemed like very shallow reasons.

That's why I'm so glad God doesn't see us the way other people see us.  1 Samuel 16:7 says, “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

God chose Israel to represent Him to the world. God chose David to be their king. But I want to tell you something that’s critical to your life, right now, today. God chose you.

God chose to save you.  Imagine if you will a scene that probably happens in most family households at some time or another.  A husband and wife are decorating their Christmas tree for the holidays.  They've been together for 25 years of happy marriage and raise wonderful kids who have all left home.  As they decorate their tree, they find it is cluttered with too many ornaments.  Many of them are ornaments their kids made over the years at church and school.  They're not that impressive and they weren't made from the highest quality materials to start with.  One is made from popsicle sticks, another is macaroni art, one is just some construction paper with a child's illegible scribbles in crayon.  What made the ornaments special was who made them. It's been decades since some of these old ornaments were made and they are faded and torn, most of the macaroni is missing off the one.  The parents sigh and decided, "All the kids are grown and we have too many ornaments for the tree.  It's time to decided which ornaments we're going to save and which ones to throw away."  Even so, it will be a hard job to throw away that macaroni ornament little Johnny made at preschool when he was three.

This scene can serves as an illustration for the way God sees us.  We are all precious to God. Maybe you are a little broken or worn out. Most of us have lost a few noodles over the years.  And the fact is, we weren't made from the highest quality materials to start with.  What made us special was who made us.  God made us, but now we've got some serious flaws and imperfections.  

And then 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us, “The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them… the Lord looks at the heart.”  We are all like God's Christmas ornaments.  We are precious to Him, even if we're broken or worn out.  And as God looks at each of us, He choses to save all of us.  He's not going to throw any of us away.  God chooses to save you if you will choose to stay with Him.

Second, God chose to save you for eternal life.  He says, "I'm never going to throw this one away.  I will always keep and cherish this one, because he or she is precious to me."  And so, if you put your faith in Jesus Christ, God will save you and you will be with Him for all eternity.

Third, God chooses to to make you whole.  If He finds we are worn out, He revives.  If we are broken, He mends.  When we realize we weren't made from the highest quality material to start with, God transforms us to pure gold. 

Lastly, God God chose you to represent Him. As an ornament is placed upon a Christmas tree to represent something special, God placed you in His world to represent Him to everyone.  1 Peter 2:9 says, “You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."  

Notice the words this Scripture uses to describe you.  You are holy.  That means you are set apart for God's very special purposes.  You are royalty--kings and queens in God's eternal Kingdom.  You are priests.  Remember, a priest helps bring spiritual healing, reconciliation, and peace to the whole world. 

Listen, you are so special to God, He was already thinking of you when He led the Israelites out of Egypt. He delivered them from slavery so you could be delivered from slavery to sin and death. God was thinking of you when He chose David to be the king of Israel.  Jesus, the Savior of the world, came from the royal lineage of David. This is why I had to go through all the history of Israel, so you can see just how much forethought, preparation, and work has gone into God’s choice. God has been working for your salvation and restoration for thousands upon thousands of years.  That's how special you are to Him.

And now, the choice is yours. God has chosen you. Will you choose God?