~ By James Fire
We are here to learn about David, the faithful shepherd boy, slayer of lions and bears; the youngest and therefore the least of seven brothers, the last one to be considered a king; who alone stood toe to toe with a giant and got him to ‘lose his head’; the only musician who could soothe the agitated state of the King’s spiritually dark gloom, the Psalmist who desired only one thing: that he would “dwell in the house of the LORD forever, to see the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple” (PSALM 27).
David: the warrior and champion of Israel unrivaled except perhaps by Joshua, successor to Moses. David, the man after GOD’s own heart, who when confronted on his sin, didn’t try to shift the blame as did Saul, but ‘fessed up and was restored to his fellowship with the LORD. The king, whose covenant GOD established and is keeping for this king and the coming King of Israel, Jesus Christ!
I am extremely blessed that 2 SAMUEL chapter 7 occurs before chapter 11.
I remember a slogan for a convenience food mart, “Oh thank heaven for 7-11!”
And I certainly thank the LORD of heaven that chapter 7 happens before 11. What we see here in chapter 7 is GOD’s unconditional covenant with King David – and what do we see happen in chapter 11? It was the major misstep of misery and fall of David into adultery with Bathsheba and the subsequent murder of her husband, Uriah.
Of course, GOD knew all of this while He made this covenant with David, and to me, this demonstrates the incredible grace and sovereignty of GOD. Despite this man after GOD’s own heart failing, GOD’s plan remains intact and resolute.
I think about the times of my own failings, my sins and transgressions, and I find peace in knowing that GOD draws me to repentance, to restoration and to rejuvenation, and His resolute plan for my life remains intact.
We’ll be looking at 2 SAMUEL 7 and PSALM 89 (JER 30 as well), as these relate to this amazing, expansive and blessed covenant GOD made with David. So, take a book-mark or a slip of paper or your neighbor’s finger and stick it in PSALM 89 and then turn to 2 SAMUEL 7:1-29.
2 SAMUEL 7:1-3
And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest roundabout from all his enemies; 2 That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. 3 And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.
David the King is looking all around his palace, it’s very beams made of mighty cedars and thinks about the holy tabernacle; he reveals his heart to the prophet Nathan: “Nathan, I’m living in this palace, while GOD is dwelling in a tent!”
A glorious tent to be sure – exquisite artistry in the way of tapestries, gold covered wood, implements of worship like the menorah and the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant made of solid gold, – awesome works of sanctified artistry, used by sanctified priests of Aaron – but a tent nonetheless.
Nathan hears David, and agrees with him: “Do it David, GOD is with you!” But it seems the prophet spoke too soon, as we read here:
2 SAMUEL 7:4-7
4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus says the Lord, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? 6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar?
This declaration of the LORD reminds me of another He made in:
ISAIAH 66:1Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. Where is the house that you will build Me? And where is the place of My rest?
Observe the humbleness of the Holy and Almighty Creator – He reminds David that not once had He ever requested, much less demanded a house of cedar, but was content to dwell in a tabernacle – since the days of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt even to the days of King David.
Did you ever wonder why GOD instructed the building of a tabernacle, and then led Solomon in the building of the Temple? I believe they represent the Second Person of the Trinity – the LORD Jesus Christ, who dwelled among us “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (ROM 8:3), that is, a body that GOD prepared for Him (HEB 10:5).
Bodies are referred to as a “tabernacle” a temporary dwelling (2 PET 1:14). A body for purpose of making Himself an offering for sin (HEB 10:5): He Who knew no sin (2 COR 5:21), and was then raised in glorification, no longer in the former tabernacle, but in His incorruptible, everlasting body – His eternal temple in which He will dwell forever with His people!
And this is one of the end goals of GOD: perpetual, unending fellowship with His children, something that He enjoyed with Adam and Eve, before this sweet communion was rudely interrupted by the serpent’s temptation and seduction of our First Parents.
But GOD’s holy will shall remain unthwarted – He gets what He desires: fellowship with His beloved, such as you, that has the privilege of this fellowship any minute of every day. 24/7! Intimacy with the Almighty! Think of it!
GOD further instructs the prophet Nathan what to tell David:
2 SAMUEL 7:8-9
8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: 9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou went and have cut off all thine enemies [from] out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth.
The LORD exalts the humble – this humble shepherd boy who cared for a few sheep, who when he left them to go see his brothers on the battlefield with the Philistines, made sure there was another to look after them; this humble brother who overlooked the insults of his eldest brother, that falsely accused him, but who was worked up in a lather, furious on GOD’s behalf when the Philistine giant Goliath spat out curses against the LORD, the GOD of the armies of Israel, and by GOD’s Spirit and one small stone, laid the proud, pagan warrior low.
GOD’s purpose in our humble circumstances, whatever they might be, is to raise us up to a place of honor (PROV 15:33), and to bring glory to His Name. Be faithful in the little, as David was in the caring of those “few sheep” and GOD will reward you with greater works and higher honor, and glorious victory over sin, your great enemy, just as He did with David and his enemies!
2 SAMUEL 7:10-11
10 Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore, as beforetime, 11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also, the Lord telleth thee that He will make thee an house.
We know Israel’s history; we understand that in just a few generations, Israel will be deep in apostasy; the LORD GOD will send prophets, pleading for His people to repent, and turn from their idolatry and wickedness.
The Assyrian and Babylonian empires would eventually steal away the House of Israel and the House of Judah respectively – and from that time until now, Israel has been subjected to what’s known as “the Time of the Gentiles” (LUKE 21:24) – Israel, no longer a state under the direct sovereignty of GOD, but subject to various Gentile nations, never knowing peace, and freedom from affliction and tribulation by this God-rejecting world.
But GOD tells Nathan, and David that there is coming a time that “the children of wickedness shall not afflict them ever again”. And He goes on to tell David, “It was in your heart David, to build Me a house, but I’m going to build you a house!” The house of David – both the lineage and royalty of the family line of David, of the tribe of Judah, through which the Messiah would come!
2 SAMUEL 7:12-15
12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom forever*. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.
“Forever” occurs eight times in this chapter, seven of those times, it refers to David’s house, his kingdom and the nation of Israel. In vs. 26 it refers to the name of the LORD.
In PSALM 89 (which we will look at soon) “forever” in reference to this covenant with David, his lineage and his throne is mentioned four times.
In these verses we have a double reference to the seed, the sons of David; in one reference it’s to David’s royal line in general – the various kings that will rule Israel, many of which will require chastening because of their iniquity, but never allowing His mercy to part from the house of David. Yet there is a specific reference to THE Son of David, whose throne GOD will establish forever. The son of David, Solomon is the one who built a temple for the LORD GOD; and it’s the greater Son of David, Y’shua ha Meschiach, Who will build the Millennial Temple (perhaps with the snap of His holy fingers? We’ll wait and see!).
2 SAMUEL 7:16-17
16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever. 17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
David is quite frankly blown away by the promise of GOD that He made to His servant. He had to go to the other room and take a seat! We’ve read this many times before, but put yourself in David’s sandals – he had no idea what would become of his house; he only knew that GOD established his authority as king of Israel, and probably the authority of his sons to some indeterminate time ahead, where perhaps GOD might well choose someone else from the tribe of Judah to rule.
But here GOD makes a promise that the house of David, and His Son – the Messiah of Israel Who will come through his line (?!!!?) will rule over the nation forever! GOD had spoken for years and years that David would be raised up as king of Israel, ever since the days when Samuel first anointed him as king, almost 20 years before this point. But here he learns that his legacy will last forever – and we know because of GOD’s grace, the same can be said of us, His New Testament saints! We have an inheritance saints, that is incorruptible (1 PET 1:4)!
And what was David’s part to play in this covenant? What was his end of the bargain he had to hold up in order to see this accomplished? What do we read here for requirements GOD has given to David?
Nothing! Nada, zilch! Just like the Abrahamic covenant before (GEN 15), this is a covenant, a promise of GOD that He has placed solely upon His own shoulders – those shoulders that would one day be scourged to the bone and pressed up against a rough-hewn and bloody cross to fulfill! Those shoulders upon which, the government of Israel would also one day rest (ISA 9:6). David then begins to pray:
2 SAMUEL 7:18-20
18 Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? 19 And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?20 And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord God, know your servant.
David continues in his prayer:
2 SAMUEL 7:21-24
21 For thy word's sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. 22 Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and [awesome] terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which You redeemed to Yourself from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? 24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee forever: and thou, Lord, art become their God.
For more about the Davidic Kingdom, listen to pastor Bob Lawrenz's teaching on this important topic from Whitestone Christian Fellowship:
Israel is indeed unique in that GOD has established a relationship with the Jew that no other earthly nation has; He chose, according to His sovereignty and grace, the people of Israel – not because they were mighty or many, but because of His own mercy, He elected them as His own people. Particularly Judah, specifically Zion:
PSALM 87:1-31 His foundation is in the holy mountains. 2 The Lord loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
All of PSALM 78 speaks fluently of God’s faithfulness to His people in the face of their unfaithfulness to Him; just a few verses:
PSALM 78:67-7267 Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim: 68 But chose the tribe of Judah, the mount Zion which he loved. 69 And he built his sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which he hath established forever. 70 He chose David also his servant and took him from the sheepfolds: 71 From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 72 So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
For an excellent 3 min 40 sec video on this, here is:
Eye to Eye - Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel
In preparing for this study, I’ve read 2 SAMUEL 7, at least twenty times, and it wasn’t until one of the last times I noticed this one word being repeated time and time again, a total of ten times (six of these mentions found in the following verses, 25-29) – and here we are at a SERVANT LEADER’s conference! What is this word?
“Servant” – David, though he is a king, recognizes who he is in GOD’s eyes; and in GOD’s kingdom that’s the way it is: we who are the servant’s of the LORD are those GOD established as His leaders – just as our Supreme example – the LORD Jesus Christ Himself.
MARK 10:42-4542 But Jesus called them to him, and said to them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. 43 But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your [servant] minister: 44 And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. 45 For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Think about JESUS – His nature, His character, His attributes and virtues – His knowledge, His wisdom, His love, His sense of justice and grace: can you find anywhere, anyone – more worthy of leadership than Him? GOD the Father made Him both LORD and Christ (Messiah; ACTS 2:36)!
And likewise, will those be worthy of leadership in His kingdom who mirror JESUS in all of His ways (but only by the Spirit of GOD’s grace working in them). Those with a servant’s heart, full of grace and peace, love and truth.
During the Millennial Reign of Christ, we His saints will be granted rule by the nail scarred hand of GOD (REV 2:27). So, let us find out, if we don’t know already, where the LORD is calling us to serve: we already know how – the LORD Jesus gave us the example to follow! See how often David uses the word ‘servant in these few verses:
2 SAMUEL 7:25-29
25 And now, O Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it forever, and do as thou hast said. 26 And let thy name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. 27 For thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. 28 And now, O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: 29 Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue forever before thee: for thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed forever.
Now to verify what we’ve read here, let’s turn to PSALM 89; We can divide this into three sections:
PSALM 89:20-29,
In this first section we read how GOD has anointed His “servant” with holy oil; that his enemies, sons of wickedness and foes will not overcome or afflict him, but GOD will beat them down that hate David.
GOD declares that in His name, David’s horn (his authority, power, kingly office) will be exalted and He will make David preeminent (His “firstborn”) – “higher than the kings of the earth” – remember in 2 SAMUEL 7, we read how GOD made the name of David as renowned as (“like unto”) the great men of the earth, but here, he is placed “higher” than all the kings.
GOD further declares that His covenant shall stand solid and secure with David (vs. 28) and his throne as the days of heaven.
PSALM 89:30-37,
In this section we read about David’s descendants – that if they forsake GOD’s Law and refuse to live out the commandments, GOD will chasten them, but also maintain His lovingkindness and faithfulness to the House of David.
GOD emphasizes here in vs. 34-36 that He will not break His covenant nor change it; He states that He will not lie to David – GOD doesn’t lie to anyone – but He says this as a way of underlining His promise to David concerning his lineage which will endure forever and his throne.
PSALM 89:38-52,
In the last section, it reveals that because David’s lineage fell into apostasy (during the time prior to the Babylonian captivity), GOD allowed the throne of David to be cast down (vs. 44) because of His wrath and judgment against Israel’s rebellion.
Again, bringing up this time period known as the Time of the Gentiles, in which Israel is under Gentile domination, it began with the Babylonian captivity, continues to this day, and will culminate during the time of the Great Tribulation (“the time of Jacob’s Trouble”) and the reign of anti-Christ, but will be ended when the Messiah returns, liberates Israel from all of her oppressive enemies and establishes the Throne of David in the Davidic kingdom – the Millennium, in fulfillment of the Davidic covenant.
We read about this, among many other places, in JEREMIAH 30. Here we see the resurrected David, who shall be king once again in Israel, under the Son of David, Jesus, Who is the ‘Over-lord’ or “King of kings” and shall rule over all.
JEREMIAH 30:5-11
5 For thus saith the Lord; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. 6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. 8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. 10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with thee, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
We read in Zachariah that at the end of the Great Tribulation, a third of the entire population of the Jews will make it to the end and receive Jesus as the Messiah (ZECH 13:9).
Consider that all of this will come to pass “in the latter days” (vs.24).
So, we have GOD’s unconditional promise to David, that through him the Messiah as well as his throne will endure forever – and what a comfort for him to know that his eternal destiny is secure. He will need to hold fast this promise by GOD in the dark days ahead – days of discouragement, dishonor, devastation and diabolical danger.
Like David, we need to keep ‘the long view’ or ‘the eternal perspective’ in the midst of our service to the King, there will be trials and tragedies – some of those even of our own making, but through it all and above it all, GOD’s sovereign and eternal will shall be accomplished and cause us to triumph. May we learn from David’s mistakes, and apply wisdom to and hope for our hearts as we consider GOD’s promises to us, just as He promised to Israel:
JEREMIAH 29:11
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
To view this teaching in full, check out this Facebook video recorded at SHINE BRIGHT Church in September of 2019.
For an intriguing video on the archaeological evidence for the person of king David in his historical context, check out Associates for Biblical Research video series (ep. 2) DIGGING FOR TRUTH:
King David: Man Or Myth?
Gideon Levytam presents the seventh covenant of God, called the Davidic Covenant. This unconditional covenant was made with David, the king of Israel, and his lineage. Through Nathan the prophet, God promised that He would establish David's house, his throne and his kingdom forever, and that from his descendants the Messiah would be born. The Messiah would be born in order to be Israel’s king, He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and to His kingdom there will be no end. 2 Samuel 7:1-5, 11-16 and 1 Chronicles 17:7-15.
Gideon Levytam teaching on The DAVIDIC Covenant
For all the teachings from the conference on The LIFE of DAVID - click on the following links to the Facebook videos:
Watch the special message by Sonny Islas, Do Not Diminish A Word (read the TTUF article based on this teaching, here.
Consider the following articles that are related to this teaching:
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