2 Samuel 7:18-29, Responding to God's promises

of 2 Samuel chapter 7. This week we are finishing the chapter off.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

Good morning.

First Samuel chapter 18, 7.

1 Samuel 18 · chapter mention

The King David went in and sat before the Lord and said,

Who am I, Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?

And I see if this were not enough in your sight.

Sovereign Lord, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant.

And this decree, Sovereign Lord, is for a mere human.

What more can David say to you?

For you know your servant, Sovereign Lord.

For the sake of your word and according to your will,

you have done this great thing and made it known to your servant.

How great you are, Sovereign Lord.

There is no one like you, and there is no God but you,

as we have had with our own ears.

And who is like your people Israel,

the one nation on earth that God went out to redeem as a people for himself,

and to make a name for himself,

and to perform great and awesome wonders,

by driving out nations and their gods,

and before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt.

You have established your people Israel as your very own forever,

and you, Lord, have become their God.

And now, God, keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house.

Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever.

And people will say,

The Lord Almighty is God over Israel,

and the house of your servant, David,

will be established in your sight.

Lord Almighty, God of Israel,

you have revealed this to your servant,

saying,

I will build a house for you.

So your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you.

Sovereign Lord, you are God.

Your covenant is trustworthy,

and you have promised these good things to your servant.

Now be pleased,

and to bless the house of your servant,

that it may continue forever in your sight for you.

Sovereign Lord,

have spoken,

and with your blessing,

the house of your servant will be blessed forever.

Amen.

Amen.

Thanks, John.

Now, keep that passage open.

We're going to be working our way through it together.

And on the inside of your notice sheet

is an outline of the sermon as well,

which you might like to follow along with.

Now, really,

this morning's sermon is part two from part one last week.

So last week,

we were looking at the beginning of 2 Samuel chapter seven.

This week,

we are finishing the chapter off.

And if you weren't with us last week,

then let me try and super quickly get you up to speed

with what we looked at last Sunday.

2 Samuel chapter seven is all about God's promise to David.

And the first half of the chapter outlines that promise

as Nathan the prophet comes and speaks to David

and tells him this promise.

David says,

I want to build a house for the Lord.

And the Lord says,

no,

I'm going to build a house for you.

I promise I'm going to give you a dynasty

that will last forever.

And so last week,

we saw that God who is free,

God can do what he wants to do

whenever he wants to do it.

God is the free God,

yet he binds himself to a promise,

a commitment.

He says,

I'm going to do this.

And it's a promise that's ultimately fulfilled

in the sending of the Lord Jesus Christ

as the eternal King of God's people.

Now that was last week.

And this week is all about how David responds

to what God has said to him.

You'll notice at the beginning of the section

that John read for us,

David goes into the tent

in which the ark is kept

and he sits before the Lord,

reflecting on what God has said.

Now to work our way through the passage together,

I want you to notice first

that David asks three rhetorical questions.

Does anyone know what a rhetorical question is?

That was a rhetorical question.

A rhetorical question,

that was supposed to be a little joke,

but it doesn't matter.

Thanks, Joan.

A rhetorical question is a question

where the answer is obvious.

Yeah, so you don't need to ask.

It's like asking a teenager,

would you like some food?

Rhetorical question,

because the answer is obvious.

It's yes.

So David asks three rhetorical questions.

Look down.

Verse 18, he says,

who am I?

He says.

Then in verse 20, he says,

what more can I say?

And then in verse 23, he says,

who is like your people?

And the answer to all of those questions

is obvious.

What's the answer to all those questions?

Nothing.

Nothing.

Who am I?

I'm nothing.

I'm no one.

What more can I say?

I can't say anything.

Who is like your people?

Who can compare to your people?

Nothing can compare to your people,

he says.

There is nothing good

like what God has done.

Now, the point of that

is that David realizes

that what God has promised

is incredible.

It's out of this world.

He has nothing to compare to it.

It's more brilliant

and more majestic,

more amazing

than anything else he's ever heard.

Any promise he's heard before,

nothing, nothing, nothing

compares to this.

Nothing.

Now, all those nothings

doesn't mean that the passage

has nothing to say.

We've not quite finished yet.

I want to show you three things

that flow out of that nothingness,

nothing to say.

The first thing is this.

I want you to see a humble king,

a humble king.

When David asks that first question,

who am I?

It's not because he's reflecting

so much on his sinfulness.

That comes later in 2 Samuel.

What he's reflecting on here

is his humanity.

The point is that the size

and the scale of God's promise

does not match his mere manness,

as he puts it.

There is a discontinuity

between the size of what God has promised

and the smallness of David.

Not only does David know

that he is the smallest son

in an unknown family.

In verse 18,

he was out keeping the sheep,

if you remember,

overlooked even by his own father

and yet now is anointed king

over a united Israel.

But that, says David in verse 19,

is a small thing

compared to what now has been promised

about the future,

the future of the house of your servant.

In other words,

David, as he looks in on himself,

is empty of any reason

why God would give him

what he has promised.

Empty of any reason.

There is nothing in me.

The reason for God's promise

has to be grounded

in God's extraordinary generosity,

not in David's strength.

David sees that

and he is humble before the Lord.

Actually, you see this humility

all the way through the passage

in the way that David refers to himself.

He consistently calls himself

God's servant.

Nine times in the chapter,

he calls himself servant,

the servant king.

With any greatness that David enjoys

comes from the heart of God

or the will of the Lord,

verse 21,

to David, his servant.

In other words,

David is humble and empty

and God's promise fills him

and exalts him.

Now, the important detail to notice here

is in verse 19,

when David says that this promise

is also a decree.

Look down at verse 19

and you'll notice that.

He says at the end,

and this decree,

sovereign Lord,

is for a mere human.

Literally, the word there is law or Torah.

It means not so much law as in rules

in this situation.

It means more instruction.

Instruction.

In other words,

the promise that you have given,

this gigantic promise to empty David,

that is meant to be an instruction.

It's supposed to teach

that God fills the empty with glory.

And it's not just to teach David,

the mere human.

I think the sense here,

as in your footnote in your Bible,

is really it's meant to teach

the entire human race.

In other words,

all of us this morning

are meant to look

at the size of God's promise

and the emptiness of David

and see something,

learn something together.

Not simply,

I think that David's humility

is something that we should copy,

although it is,

and we'll talk about that in a moment,

but rather this idea of God's promise

being fulfilled in emptiness

is a lesson,

something that we should be looking for.

Why?

Well, because as we know

from the rest of our Bibles,

it's the exaltation

of an empty human king

that brings salvation.

The promise to David

is a pattern

that teaches us

to look for Jesus.

Think about it with me.

Jesus is the king of kings.

He's the Lord of lords.

He's the glorious,

eternal son in human flesh.

Where do you find him?

You find him in a stable,

not a palace.

You find him laid

in a feeding trough,

not an ornate cot.

But as you read that

in the Gospels,

you shouldn't be surprised by that

because you've been taught

that God's extraordinarily large promise

is seen in the emptiness

of humanity.

In Mark chapter 10,

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Jesus picks up David's language here

when he says

that he's not come to be served,

but to serve

and give his life

as a ransom for many.

I am the servant of all,

says Jesus,

just like David.

In other words,

David's humility here

helps us recognize Jesus,

the eternal, glorious son

who empties himself of glory,

taking on weak human flesh,

pouring out his life on the cross,

only to be filled with the glory

as he receives the blessing

of his father

in the name that is above every name.

Let me ask you

whether you see this

this morning.

It's wonderful

if you all grasp this.

I know it's a sort of

abstract theological concept,

but there is glory

and there is wonder in this

if we will just listen to it.

In his divinity,

the eternal son

is eternally glorious.

There is no glory

that God has

that is not belonging

to the son.

The son is eternally glorious

with the father

and the spirit

in eternity past.

And without shedding

any of his divinity,

he takes on himself

the humanity of David,

empties himself

and becomes mere human,

to use David's words

in verse 19,

so that in his empty humanity

through his fulfillment

of the promise of God

and his work on the cross,

he can be filled

not so much

just with the divine glory,

but actually can be filled

with the glory

of being God's appointed king.

King,

the fulfillment of David,

the God-man ruler

of his people,

the final fulfillment

of 2 Samuel chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

This is how Paul puts it

in Philippians chapter 2.

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

Speaking of Jesus,

he says,

who being in very nature God

did not consider equality

with God

something to be used

to his own advantage.

Rather,

he made himself nothing.

Literally there in the Greek,

he emptied himself

by taking the very nature

of a servant

and being made

in human likeness

and being found

in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death,

even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted him

to the highest place

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus

every knee shall bow

in heaven and on earth

and under the earth

and every tongue acknowledge

that Jesus Christ

is Lord, King, Ruler

to the glory of God the Father.

This is the brilliance

of all this.

Philippians 2

is the fulfillment

of 2 Samuel 7

when a thousand years

before the coming of Christ

a young shepherd king

sits in a tent

and prays and says,

God, you've promised something

which doesn't match

my mere humanity.

And God says,

doesn't he,

in a way,

no, no,

this is how I work,

watch and wait

for the coming king.

Now, of course then,

there's a lesson for us too,

isn't there,

that we too should be humble,

we should be empty

of self-importance

like David

and like Jesus,

that in experiencing

the blessings of God

in turning to him,

we're not asking

that God might see

our potential.

I mean,

just imagine for a moment

that David sits down

in the tent before God

and goes,

finally God,

someone has seen

my potential.

My dad always overlooked me.

He was always more interested

in my brothers

than he was in me.

Thank you, Lord,

that you've finally seen

what great value I have.

It would be a wicked thing

for him to say,

wouldn't it?

Why?

Well, because God's blessing

is for the self-empty,

not the self-full.

That's the lesson

of the promise.

And so for you and me

and for us together

as a church,

it's only as we

recognize our emptiness,

it's only as we

shred our self-reliance

that we can begin

to be filled

with the power of God.

Why should God

revive the work

of the gospel

in Queen's Park

and Kilburn?

Why?

Why should God

give you the strength

for tomorrow?

Why should God

rescue us

from this sin-sick world

for a place

in eternal glory?

Who are we

for such a promise?

Who am I?

I'm no one.

I'm nothing.

It's about God's generosity,

taking what is empty

and filling it

with his power

and his strength

for his glory.

Let me just try

and press this

a little more.

If you're a Christian

this morning

and you don't share

this sense

that the promise

of God in Jesus Christ,

the promise

that he has given you

in the Lord Jesus,

the promise not just

for this life

but for eternity

in his kingdom,

if you don't,

if you're a Christian

and you don't sense

like David

that you are no one

to deserve that,

then either you

don't really know

yourself

or you don't really

know the size

of the promise

because it's wonderful

what's been offered here

and David recognises

that the size

of what God has promised

does not match

the emptiness

of his humanity

and so for you and me.

Second theme,

the awesomeness of God,

the awesomeness of God.

In verse 22,

David launches into praise

as he tells God

there is no one like him.

Look at verse 22.

How great you are,

sovereign Lord.

There is no one like you

and there is no God

but you.

And because God

is like that,

it means there is nothing

like being one of his people

either.

No one has it as great

as Israel.

Look at verse 23.

And who is like your people,

Israel,

the one nation on earth

that God went out

to redeem

as a people for himself.

No one else

has ever been rescued

like that.

No one else

has ever been turned

from slavery

to freedom

for the possession of God.

No one else

has received

such amazing things

that God has done.

No one else

has received

this kind of forever promise

that God has now

given to his people

in verse 24.

You have established

your people Israel

as your very own forever,

he says.

And you,

Lord,

have become

their God.

That's important

to notice here

that David

is seeing

this promise

God has made him

and understanding it

in line with the other

actions of God

in history.

Notice the way

that he refers

to God here.

It's sovereign Lord,

Lord God,

as it's translated.

That's significant

because David here

is taking on the language

that Abraham uses

for God

in Genesis chapter 15

Genesis 15 · chapter mention

when God spoke

to Abraham

and gave him

a promise.

David's saying

that God,

Abraham's God,

that God is my God,

he says.

This Abrahamic God,

that God is the God

now who's spoken

to me in promise,

he says.

And then in verse 23,

David is talking

about Moses

and the rescue

from Egypt,

saying that what

has been promised

to him

is essentially

the part B,

the sequel

to the Exodus.

God is not doing

something new

with David,

he is building

on what he has

already been doing,

all of which are showing

that God is alone

in generosity,

unparalleled in kindness,

which has been going

through the generations

of the Old Testament,

working out in promises

to Abraham

and to Moses

and now to David.

Now that's brilliant,

but I think to see

the gold here,

you've really got to

notice and think carefully

about what David says

about God's awesomeness

in those promises.

So just notice

these two big ideas

in verse 22 and 23.

That on the one hand,

there is no one

like God

and on the other hand,

there is nothing

like being one

of his people.

If you only see

one of those,

you only get

half the story.

If you see

that there is no one

like God

but you forget

there's nothing

like being his people,

you only get

half the story.

If you think

there's nothing

like being his people

but you forget

that there is no one

like God,

you've only got

half the story.

because it's not just here that God is great, right? It's not just that God is powerful or

mighty. Of course, that's true. And we're used to thinking in that category. I don't know

what you think about when you think about God, but maybe you just think of a great

force or power or might or majesty. Well, in a sense, that's kind of true, isn't it? But it's

only really part of it. Let me try and show you what's going on. Look at verse 26 and look at

what David calls God. David says that the Lord Almighty is God. Literally, the God of

heaven's armies is God. But notice what he adds. He says, over Israel. You notice that the Lord

Almighty, the king of heaven's armies, the one who is powerful and majestic and glorious

is over Israel. It's the same in verse 27. Lord Almighty, majestic, glorious, powerful,

mighty God of Israel. God of Israel. Or take a look at verse 22. David knows there is no one

besides God. Why? Well, because he has heard with his ears what God has done in redeeming Israel from

their slavery in Egypt. And now he hears their promise, the promise of God for him. And he says,

listen, I've got nothing more to say. There's nothing more to say. God in all his awesome power is for

David, not against him. In other words, God's awesomeness is for David, right? His awesomeness

is salvation for Israel. Because not only is God powerful and majestic and glorious, powerful to

crush all enemies and destroy everything in his path, which is sort of good news, I suppose, in a way,

and maybe how you think about God, but his greatness is seen in his mercy towards David,

in his love and his kindness, that this great power is for him, not against him.

So suddenly, God's power is not something that David is terrified of, but is something he loves

and delights in. Let me just try and illustrate what's going on here. I want you to imagine for a

moment that you're stuck in the mud, okay? I don't know how you got there, but it's your fault,

right? You're up to your waist in the mud. You can't get out. You can't move. You're going to just

be there forever and ever in the mud, right? You're stuck. It's a terrible situation. Your life is in

danger. You're going to die in the mud. And just as you think this cannot get any worse, it gets worse,

because through the mud is driving a huge digger towards you. And you're stuck, right? So you can't

get out. You've got no hope of getting out of the way of the digger. So what's going to happen when

the digger comes to you? It's going to crush you right over the top of you, and you can't get out

of the way. So listen, I put it to you that the bigness of the digger while you're stuck in the mud

is not good news, is it? It's not, is it? You're terrified of the digger because you're stuck in

the mud. It's not good news. It's bad news. The size of the digger is bad news. This is the end. I'm

lost. But then you look carefully and you notice that the driver of the digger is your dad. That's my

dad there. And you know that your dad loves you. He has a heart for you. He wants to rescue you.

And he's coming to use the power of the digger to lift you from the mud. What do you think then about

the size of the digger? Well, you're singing about it, aren't you? Oh, how mighty you are, digger. I love

you digger. Your scooping power is great. I love it. All of a sudden, what was terrifying to you is

brilliant news. Why? Why? Well, because you know that the one in whose hand is that power

loves you, loves you. And that's what's going on in our passage. David knew that God was great,

but what he finds out in the promise is that God loves him and is for him. That's the great news of

2 Samuel chapter 7. Now, of course, if David could see that about God from what he has heard in 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention 2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7, how much more can we see that as we see the fulfillment in Jesus Christ? You know, who is

like the God who stoops down from the glories of heaven to take on himself in the person of the Son,

frail human, empty flesh, to die on the cross to save us from our sin, from slavery, not in Egypt,

but to sin and death, dying, rising. Who is a God like that? Who is a God like that? Who has a name

as great as that name? The greatness is not crushing but saving. It's not far off or distant. It's not

something I read about in a dispassionate way as if, oh, yeah, yeah, God's great, isn't he? It's something

that I know is close by me and I love it that God in his triune awesomeness, Father, Son, and Spirit

moves towards me in the person of the Son to scoop me out the mud of my sin and lift me to glory.

What great news. No one like that God and there's nothing like being one of his people, which brings

us to the final point, which is about saving faith. I don't know whether you noticed this as John read the

passage for us earlier, but there's only one request in David's prayer. Did you notice that?

It's there at the end of verse 25. Notice it. It's do as you promised. It's the only thing that David

asked. Do as you promised. It's an amazing thing when you think about what's been going on in the

story. Here's David. He's sat in this tent before the Lord. God has spoken to him through Nathan the

prophet, said all these amazing things to him, and in effect, his prayer is something like this. Praise

you, Father. The only thing I want is you to do what you said you're going to do. The only request

I have is, Lord, just do what you've promised. That will be enough for me, Lord, if you will do

what you promised. That promise, that promise that you've made that I've heard through Nathan,

that's what I want, Lord. I don't want anything else. That's what I want. That's what I need.

David goes on to explain why he's asking for it. If you look down at verse 27, see what he says.

It's because God has said, I will build a house for you that he has courage to ask. It's because

God's words are true and trustworthy in verse 28, and he has promised a good thing. So David speaks

to God and says, please do what you've promised. Please do it. See, listen to this, because this is

really important for us this morning as we come to a conclusion. This is what it is for David to have

saving faith in God. There are two aspects to it. One is David looks at God and goes, I can trust you

to do what you say. I know, God, that you are trustworthy. But that's not all, okay? He says,

I know, God, you're trustworthy. But the second part is, he says, your promise, you keeping your

promise is all that I want in life, all that I need. Imagine it like this. I don't know whether

this might happen in your family when you had smaller children, or if you're a young person this

morning, this may still happen in your house. It does happen in ours from time to time. Imagine

that you and your siblings are fighting over a small chunk of chocolate.

You know, whose is it? And you're squabbling and fighting. And then your mum comes in, maybe

this takes a bit more imagination, because this never happened in my house. But imagine

your mum comes in with a giant kilo bar of chocolate and says, listen, I promise to give

this to you. I promise to give it to you. What happens to the fight about the little chunk

of chocolate? Suddenly it evaporates, doesn't it? Why? Well, because the promise is way better

than the thing you were really concerned about before. It's eclipsed, isn't it? Your fight

over the chocolate is eclipsed by the kilo bar promised to you. And all you want is your

mum to keep the promise. Please just keep your promise, mum. Please keep your promise. And

you will stop fighting. Now that's what's going on here. David is suddenly consumed by the

promise of God. And David was thinking, oh, I'm going to build a temple. I'm going to kind

of make Jerusalem like the place that I really want to be. I've built my own cedar house.

Now all I really need is to get that Ark of the Covenant out of a tent and into a nice

cedar building itself so that we can make Jerusalem nice and cosy. Let's bed in. Let's settle down.

Let's get comfortable. Let's build heaven here. Let's build the eternal kingdom here. Maybe

this is what being God's people is about. It's about building home here and enjoying it.

And God comes and says, no, listen, listen, my promise is for something much, much better than

that. My promise is not the chunk. It's the kilo bar. My promise is not just for the short time now.

My promise is for ever. I am not talking about a short kingdom here in Jerusalem. I'm talking about

an eternal heavenly kingdom. I'm not talking about a place where you're king, David. I'm talking

about a place where I'm king. I'm not talking about a place where you live for a short time and then

you die. I'm talking about a place where you live forever and ever and ever. I'm not talking about a

place where you cry and weep and mourn and suffer. I'm talking about a place where every tear is wiped away

and you live forever with me

in a world remade by my power and my glory

forever and ever and ever.

And David says, oh, that's what I want.

That's what I want.

And that's saving faith.

Being a Christian is not just saying a sinner's prayer

with your mum by the bedside

and then just getting on with life.

I think some of us think that, don't we?

You know, we pray, Lord, please forgive me for my sin.

And then I'm just gonna carry on with life

as I was living before,

as if that's what it's all about.

You know, building heaven here,

trying to get a career, trying to get a house,

trying to get enough money to live.

Asking God to help me do what I want to do

and fulfill my plans.

But being a Christian in 2 Samuel chapter seven

is not like that at all.

Being a Christian in 2 Samuel chapter seven is saying,

yes, I'm sorry for my sin and I turn from it.

I trust you.

But Lord, what you promise is what I want.

I don't want anything else.

If I cannot have that, I want nothing.

Because that's what really matters.

The promise is better than anything else we travel over.

So let me say to you this morning,

whether or not you'd call yourself a Christian,

have you seen that?

Have you seen that?

Until you see that this promise of God made in Abraham,

Moses and David,

fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ,

until you've seen that that really is

the only lasting treasure,

then you've not really understood what God is saying here.

So have you seen it?

Do you know that?

Have you seen that in life and death,

the only treasure of any value

is knowing God through Christ, his King,

that we are empty

of any reason in ourselves to receive that,

that God in his awesomeness scoops us up,

gives us this amazing promise

that now by faith we're invited to reach out

and take hold of living life and dying death

with something bigger than our own dreams

and aspirations driving us.

Well, let me pray and then we'll sing

in response to what we've heard.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Let me pray.

Heavenly Father, we want to say with David,

please, Lord, do as you have promised.

What you've promised in the Lord Jesus Christ

is better than anything that we could do for ourselves,

better than anything that we have planned for our lives.

Lord Jesus Christ, knowing you, trusting you,

eternity with you in a world remade by your power

and your glory forever and ever

is better than any of the simple little things

that occupy us now.

Please, Lord, fill our hearts

with the great treasure that it is in knowing you

and do as you have promised, we pray.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.