You Need A King - The Davidic Covenant Part 1

We're in 2 Samuel chapter 7 today.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

Well, as you're turning to 2 Samuel 7,

I'll explain what series we are in right now.

So, we finish going through the gospel according to John.

We begin a shorter series on covenant theology,

seeing the divine covenants,

when God has sworn and made a vow to humans.

We saw the covenant God made with Adam,

the covenant God made through Noah with all of creation.

We saw the covenant the Lord made with Abraham, with Moses.

There are two more covenants left.

Then we paused after Moses, and we had eight weeks in the Psalms.

So, we finished with Psalm 16 last week.

We're picking up on covenant theology.

The last two covenants, do you know what they are?

The covenant God made with David,

and then finally, the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

We spent two weeks on each covenant.

So, this is the Davidic covenant part one.

Next week, open air.

The Davidic covenant part two.

Pray for me.

And then, we'll be the new covenant.

The covenant the Lord made through Jesus Christ for two weeks.

After that, we'll begin in the book of the Bible,

and I'll share more about that with you later.

For a bit of review to set up the context here of today's sermon text,

the Abrahamic covenant promised a realm and a people for God's kingdom.

The Mosaic covenant provided God's law for that kingdom.

Now, in the Davidic covenant, God is promising a human king over his kingdom.

God establishes purpose over all of creation by giving to the first federal head, Adam,

dominion over all that God had made.

And now, it's going to reach a new stage of progressive history leading up to that final fulfillment

of God's original promise.

Who will be the next federal head, the new Adam?

Paul calls him the second Adam, the new creation, the firstborn.

And that will be our Lord Jesus Christ.

But the promise to David that you'll see today sets that stage.

It tees it up.

And that's what the Messianic promises are fulfilled,

fulfilling this that we'll read today.

All right.

Well, as we read God's word,

I do so believing this is God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient word.

It's God's very own word for you, his people.

So after I'm done reading, I'll say this is the word of God.

If you receive it that way, you can say thanks be to God.

2 Samuel chapter 7.

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

I'm going to read verses 8 through 16.

Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David.

This is the Lord instructing the prophet Nathan.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep to be ruler over my people, over Israel.

And I have been with you wherever you have gone,

and have cut off all your enemies from before you,

and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on earth.

Moreover, I will appoint a place for my people Israel,

and I will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own,

and move no more, nor shall their sons of wickedness oppress them any more,

as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel,

and have caused you to rest from all your enemies.

Also the Lord tells you that he will make you a house.

When your days are fulfilled, and you rest with your fathers,

I will set up your seed after you,

who will come from your body,

and I will establish his kingdom.

He shall build a house for my name,

and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

Verse 14.

I will be his father, and he shall be my son.

If he commits iniquity,

I will chasten him with the rod of men,

and with the blows of the sons of men.

But my mercy shall not depart from him,

as I took it from Saul,

whom I removed from before you.

And your house and your kingdom

shall be established forever before you.

Your throne shall be established forever.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

Let's pray.

O Lord Jesus,

in your glorified body,

you walked with your disciples.

You walked on the road to Emmaus.

And you opened up all of the scriptures,

and you showed how they all point to you.

And the power of the word of God,

through the living Jesus Christ,

was ministered to those disciples in their heart.

They thought back on what that felt like.

They said,

Oh, did our hearts not burn within us?

And we pray, Lord,

that you, Jesus Christ,

the living word of God,

that you will preach to your people.

We pray that your Holy Spirit

will apply your truth to our hearts.

I pray that you'll guard my lips.

I pray that you'll guard the ears of your people.

Anything that comes out of my mouth

that's not pleasing to you, Lord,

may it just fall to the ground

and blow away like the dust.

But Lord,

any truth of how your word points to Jesus Christ,

how all of God's promises find your yes

and their amen in Jesus,

we pray that you'll make that to burn

in the hearts of your people.

By the power of your Holy Spirit,

we ask for your glory.

Amen.

Quote,

The king must die

that the nation may live.

Those were the words of Maximilien Robespierre.

He was one of the radical revolutionaries

in the French Revolution.

The king must die

that the nation may live.

The message of the French Revolution

was liberty for the oppressed.

And in his mind,

if there's no king,

then we can have liberty.

Because liberty equates to having no rules,

no law.

And that's the way the world thinks.

No rules equals happiness.

Well, if you look at what happened in the French Revolution,

is Robespierre was the ringleader for the reign of terror.

If you thought it was bad,

under the corrupt monarchy,

it got much worse during the reign of terror.

An entire class of people

were lined up

and took their turn

at the guillotine.

No king,

no rules

does not lead to happiness.

It leads to chaos.

It leads to a philosophy of might

makes right,

which leads to abuse

and violence.

In today's sermon text,

we heard a reference

to the time of the judges

before Saul and David

became the first kings over Israel.

In the book of Judges,

it ends with this assessment of the nation.

Judges 21-25.

Everyone did what was right

in his own eyes.

Why?

Because there was no king in the land.

So, beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

my message to you today

as we look at the promises

God made to David.

It's that you need a king.

You and I need a king.

My first point is

that God promised

a glorious kingdom

belonging to a great king.

I want to walk through

pretty much this entire sermon text

and simply point that out.

God promised a glorious kingdom

to a great king.

I have six observations here.

Number one,

God displays his glory

by promising gracious blessings

to a nobody.

Look at verse 8.

God takes a nobody like David

and he gives him

these glorious promises of grace.

Look how God reminds David

of where he came from

in verse 8.

Now therefore,

thus shall you say

to my servant David,

thus says the Lord of hosts,

I took you from the sheepfold,

from following the sheep,

to be the ruler

of my people Israel.

David,

I will get all the glory

in what I do through you.

David,

I will give you a great name,

but you need to remember

and never forget,

you were following stinky sheep around

in the grass.

If you get a great name

by being over my people,

it's so that I will get the glory.

Don't touch my glory,

says God to David.

But God promises

he will make a great name

of this man.

In chapter 9 we read,

I have been with you

wherever you have gone

and cut off all of your enemies

from before you

and have made you

a great name,

like the name of the great men

who are on earth.

David experienced just that.

As David fought against

the Philistines early on

and against all the other nations,

on every side,

the Lord gave him victory.

And David was the first one

to admit,

we see this pattern

in all the Psalms,

every time God gives victory,

it's because God

was at his right hand.

It was the presence of God

with David

and with the army.

This name of greatness

that the nations would fear

came because God

was the one doing it.

We see that David

was a man of war

in the stories

that were told

in 1 and 2 Samuel.

He was often in exile.

He had to be chased out

of the land

and live as a sojourner

in foreign lands.

But God promised

to give him

and the entire nation

rest in the land.

Look at verse 10.

I will appoint a place

for my people Israel

and I will plant them

and they may dwell

in a place of their own

and move no more.

Nor shall the sons

of wickedness oppress you.

You will have rest

from all your enemies.

What God promises

is what we all long for.

I think I've shared

with everyone here,

I grew up in Brazil

and the Brazilians

look at me

and think you're not Brazilian

and now in the USA,

no one knows.

I really am Brazilian.

That's what I feel.

I am Brazilian.

And so,

if we belong to Christ

and he is your king,

you belong to the kingdom of God.

That's your identity.

That's where you're at home

is in the kingdom of God

wherever you are.

And it's right and good

and it's preparing your soul

for eternity with him

to feel always

a little bit homesick.

Amen?

Amen?

Now it's not trying to escape

what he's called us to.

He's planted us here

and he will bring

a new heavens

and a new earth

and in Christ reigning over us

we get to be part of that.

But this promise

that you will have a place.

You will be able

to dwell in peace.

That's what some of you

need to hear today.

And find that place

in the kingdom

of Jesus Christ.

You won't find it

anywhere else.

You can ask the testimony

of other brothers and sisters

who've tried,

peeked in those doors.

it will not satisfy.

You're at home

in Christ's kingdom alone.

Well next is that

the line of the king

over God's chosen people

will be appointed

by God himself.

See, God let the nation

have Saul to show them

you wanted a king

like all the other nations

who's tall and handsome?

You can have that.

And then the Lord

cut off Saul.

And he cut off

all of the line of Saul

to make it very clear

that God will be the one

who will appoint a man

an actual king

over his people.

And God promised David

a house.

The best understanding

in the original language

for the word house

is a dynasty

or a line.

Look at verse 11.

The Lord will make you

a house.

Verse 12.

He will set up

your seed after you.

So a house is a line

of kings,

a dynasty.

We read God's word

as true and inerrant

and clear.

This is an actual

genealogical line

from the king David

in Israelite history

to a man.

God will do this.

We'll see,

David wanted to build

a place

for God to meet

with his people.

But God promised

that David wouldn't

be the one

that would get

to do that.

There would be

a temple.

There would be

a dwelling place,

a place where

the holy God

would meet

with sinners

and forgive them

and dwell with them

by grace.

But it wouldn't be

something David

would build.

It would be

the seed of David,

the offspring of David

that would have

to build this.

Verse 13.

He is the one

who shall build

a house for my name,

says God.

Well, David failed

to discipline

his own sons.

Much of the turmoil

we were reading about

in the Psalms,

it comes from problems

that arose from

within the house,

within this house

of David.

He did not discipline

his sons.

He failed.

But God promised

in verse 14,

I will be his father

and he shall be my son.

And if he,

the dynastic king

in the line of David,

commits iniquity,

sins against me,

God,

trespasses my law,

I will chasten him.

I will discipline him

like a loving father does.

But God promised

his steadfast love

would never be taken away.

Look at verse 15.

I took my mercy

away from Saul

and I removed Saul

from before you.

But God promises

to your seed,

I will never remove

my steadfast love.

Verse 15.

My mercy

shall not depart

from him.

from David's

promised offspring.

What a glorious promise

the Lord gives

to his people.

There will be

a kingdom.

This kingdom

will be ruled

by a great king

with a great name.

And if you can be

in this kingdom,

it will be glorious.

God will dwell with you.

God will rule over you

through a man

that will come

from this line

of David.

Well,

God's word

is for his people

in every generation.

And his Holy Spirit

helps us

to see what God

was doing all along.

But we don't want

to flatten out

all of God's revelation.

We want to try

to do our best

to understand

how is this word true

through every step

of redemptive history.

So,

how did God

keep his promises

to national Israel

proving

that he is true

to his word?

Let's not skip this step.

How did God

keep his promises

to national Israel

proving

that he is true

to his word?

Would you turn forward

in your Bible

a bit

to 1 Kings

1 Kings 8:20

chapter 8

verse 20?

1 Kings

1 Kings 8:20

chapter 8

verse 20.

How did the Lord

keep his promises?

And how does the Bible

interpret God's own

fulfillment

of what he promised?

1 Kings

1 Kings 8:20

chapter 8

verse 20.

The son of David,

this promised seed

who would be carrying

on this dynasty

over Israel

was Solomon.

And the Lord

allowed Solomon

to build a temple

and to dedicate

this temple.

And Solomon

prays.

1 Kings

8

20

says

in the words

of Solomon

and so

the Lord

has fulfilled

his word

which he spoke.

I have filled

the position

of my father

David

and sit

on the throne

of Israel.

As the Lord

promised,

I have built

a temple

for the name

of the Lord

God

of Israel.

Look at

verse 24.

He directs

this testimony

to the Lord,

to God.

Verse 24.

You have kept

what you promised

your servant

David,

my father.

You have both

spoken

with your mouth

and fulfilled

it with

your hand.

Praise God

he keeps

his word.

God acts

and ordains

history in such

a way that we

can look back

and see how

God has orchestrated

every event

of redemptive

history for

his people

in every generation.

The greatness

of Solomon's name,

it was something

that was known

worldwide.

There was a queen

from a region

called Sheba.

We read of this

in 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 9:1–8

chapter 9

verses 1 through 8.

And even the queen

of Sheba heard

of the fame

of Solomon

and she said

when she visited

him,

it was a true

report which I heard

in my own land

about your words

and your wisdom.

However,

I did not believe

their words

until I came

and saw

with my own eyes

you exceed

the fame

of which I heard.

Happy are those

who stand

continually before you

and hear your wisdom.

Listen to what

the queen of Sheba

says to Solomon.

Blessed be the

Lord your God

who delights

in you,

setting you

on his throne

to be king

of the Lord

Most High.

What a testimony

of God giving

his promise

the great name

to Solomon

the seed of David

and fulfilling

his word

that he would

sit on the throne

he would build

the temple

and God's glory

filled the temple.

God filled Solomon

with wisdom

so that those

who were in his court

received his counsel

and Israel enjoyed

peace under Solomon.

The Lord is true

to his word.

But we have a problem

when it comes

to national Israel

and the problem

is man.

When blessing

depends on man's

obedience

we suffer.

When blessing

depends on man's

obedience

we are under

a covenant of works.

It's a principle

of works

because if man

disobeys

we bring on curses.

Only perfect obedience

can bring on blessing.

Do you remember

that principle

way back in the

Garden of Eden

as goes the king

so goes the kingdom.

We don't get to

make the rules

God set it up

this way

Adam will be the one

who is to guard

and to keep

and to minister

before God

in the Garden of Eden

and the Lord

set up this principle

of imputed sin

that with Adam's sin

as the federal head

all of mankind

is now fallen

short of the glory

of God

our wills are bound

to be sinful

we're bent in that direction

all that we do

will be tainted

and polluted

by sin

that came from Adam

then in our own pride

our own self-righteousness

our own works

our own willful sin

that just piles on

the sin of a people

and so this same principle

now for national Israel

all it takes

is one of the kings

of this line of David

sinning

rebelling against God

turning to idolatry

this principle of works

will affect

the entire kingdom

as goes the king

so goes the kingdom

we read in the law of God

that the Davidic king

he was to

to memorize it

to write it

make a copy

that the scribes

would inspect

the king was to

reflect

the righteous rule

over the nation

of God himself

well what

what king

under the curse of Adam

can rule a nation

without falling short

of the glory of God

the Davidic king

was to

lead Israel

in the faithful

observance of

all of God's law

that he gave

through Moses

we didn't even

have to go

one generation

past Solomon

to see the fall

to see how man

once again

violates the law

of God

Solomon

was the one

who began

forsaking God

and turning instead

to the idols

that all of his

different marriages

brought into the nation

in 1st Kings 11

verse 2

we read

that you shall not

intermarry with them

nor they with you

for surely

they will turn away

your hearts

after their gods

but Solomon

clung to these

in love

as goes the king

so goes

the kingdom

that temple

that Solomon built

which was filled

with the glory

of God

King Nebuchadnezzar

came and destroyed

and carried the people

away into exile

and so now we have

the throne

of David

sitting empty

no land

no freedom

no law

no peace

and a bad name

how will God

be faithful

to his promises

because when it

depends on man

everyone

gets misery

do you see

how even the story

of God's promise

to David

and the fall

of the nation

to idolatry

even that

it proves to us

that man

has no hope

of blessing

unless God

himself

becomes our king

no man

on earth

can have a hope

of receiving

God's blessing

by being good

enough

and that's why

God himself

had to become

the king

from the line

of David

to fulfill

all of these

promises

if you're back

in our sermon

text

you can turn

there

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

chapter 7

2 Samuel 7

there's one more

verse

that we haven't

read yet

in our exposition

and that's

verse 16

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 7:16

chapter 7

verse 16

as you heard

this the first

time

some of you

might have

thought

that sounds

more glorious

than what

Solomon

or any other

man

could achieve

how will God

be true to his

word

in verse 16

God promised

your house

your kingdom

your throne

shall be

established

forever

before you

the Hebrew

term

forever

it's found

eight times

in this chapter

the foreverness

of God's promises

through David

are a significant

feature of the

Davidic covenant

God is promising

a king

for his people

a name

a throne

which will

last forever

but there sits

Israel

with no name

no land

no king

well even though

Israel is in exile

God continues to

raise up prophets

the people are

idolatrous

but these prophets

the rest of the

prophets of the

Old Testament

they begin

adding on

adding on

promises

filling out

this Davidic

promise

this Davidic

covenant

it's pointing to

a future

and fuller

fulfillment

for example

Amos 9

11

prophesied

that a great

day is coming

on which

I the Lord

shall raise up

the tabernacle

of David

which has

fallen down

and I shall

repair

its damages

I will raise

up its ruins

and rebuild it

there's the image

of David's house

fallen down

like a tent

that had all

the pegs

knocked out

and the Lord

says I will

take that

tabernacle of

David

and put it

back up

I'd like for

you to please

turn to the

book of Isaiah

and this is

where I'm

going to keep

us for the

rest of our

time

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 11 · chapter mention

11

how else did

God add on

promises

and make the

prophecy

be even more

clear of this

anointed messianic

man from the

line of David

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 11:1

11 verse 1

these Isaiah

passages might

be familiar

to you but I

hope that you'll

make the

connection today

when you see

the name of

David attached

to these

Isaiah 11

starting at

verse 1

Isaiah also

prophesies

right before

Israel gets

taken over

there shall

come forth

a rod

from the

stem of

Jesse

who was

Jesse

David's dad

a branch

shall grow

out of its

roots

the spirit

of the

Lord shall

rest upon

him

the spirit

of wisdom

and understanding

the spirit

of counsel

and might

the spirit

of knowledge

and of the

fear of the

Lord

with the

breath of

his lips

he shall

slay the

wicked

verse 5

righteousness

shall be

the belt

of his

loins

and faithfulness

the belt

of his

waist

so for

all the

believing

Israelites

like Daniel

who received

the prophecies

God gave

through Isaiah

they're expecting

from the

physical line

of David

a man

to be born

that God

will raise

up

and in a way

they could only

accept by

faith

he will have

a belt

of righteousness

he will be

so full of

the Holy Spirit

he will pour

out wisdom

and his words

will slay

the enemies

these are

the expectations

they would put

in this

Davidic

man

that God

would raise

up

his

anointed

one

well let's

see how

God fulfilled

these

glorious

promises

in Christ's

first coming

would you

turn back

in Isaiah

to Isaiah

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

Isaiah 9

starting at

verse 6

this is how

the Lord

God

fulfilled

the promises

of the

Davidic

covenant

in Christ's

first coming

Isaiah

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

starting at

verse 6

for unto

us

a child

is born

unto us

a son

is given

and the

government

will be

upon his

shoulders

and his

name

will be

called

wonderful

counselor

mighty

God

everlasting

father

prince of

peace

of the

increase

of his

government

and peace

there will

be no

end

it's

forever

upon the

throne

of David

and over

his kingdom

to order

it and

establish it

with judgment

and justice

from that

time

forward

even

forever

the zeal

of the

Lord of

hosts

will perform

this

amen

do you see

the Davidic

covenant

the Lord

never forgot

about it

he wrapped

more glorious

promises

more specific

ways that

only God

could fulfill

he will be

called mighty

God

but he's

from the

house of

David

he's from

the throne

of David

and will

rule over

the kingdom

of David

but he's

the everlasting

father

God made

David

a shepherd

into a

king

Christ

the king

of kings

became

a man

and a

shepherd

the eternal

divine

father

promised

that God

the son

shall take

a body

and he

will be

the only

mediator

between God

and man

he will be

the temple

the meeting

place

God

promised

my son

shall never

commit a

single

iniquity

and nothing

that pleases

me will

my son

leave

undone

he'll do

it all

and yet

my son

will take

the rod

of men

and the

blows

of the

sons

of men

for your

sins

in your

place

God

brought

peace

to his

nation

by David

being a

bloody

man

of war

and Christ

went to

war with

sin

Satan

worldliness

and he

became

bloody

to bring

peace

to his

nation

King

Jesus

rules

over his

people

with his

moral

law

written

on your

hearts

put into

your

minds

his

kingdom

is not

a kingdom

of lawlessness

but it's a

kingdom of

true peace

do you see

how Robespierre

was wrong

but his

words were

right

that's the

only way

the king

had to

die

that his

nation

might live

the zeal

of the

Lord of

hosts

performed

this

through

Jesus

Christ

and that's

how God

fulfills

the forever

forever

the

forever

of the

Davidic

covenant

verse 15

of our

sermon

text

my

mercy

my

loving

kindness

my

covenant

faithfulness

shall not

depart

from my

son Jesus

or any

who are

in him

do you

see how God

fulfilled these

promises

when Christ

first came

to earth

well there's

more glorious

promises still

attached to the

Davidic covenant

I believe

I believe God

will finally

and fully

fulfill all of

these promises

with Christ's

second coming

our sermon

text verse 10

says I will

give a place

for my people

I will plant

them that they

may dwell in a

place of their

own and move

no more

that's not

fulfilled yet

Peter calls

the church

Gentiles and

Jews alike

sojourners

pilgrims

we're more

like Abraham

and Isaac

and Jacob

who are

sojourners

but there

will come

a time

where we

will have

a place

to dwell

forever

we won't

have to

move

anymore

no more

shall the

sons of

wickedness

oppress

them

we're not

there yet

that hasn't

happened

and they

shall have

rest from

all their

enemies

to me

this still

awaits

final fulfillment

at Christ's

second coming

you're in

Isaiah

look at

Isaiah

Isaiah 9 · chapter mention

chapter 9

I'm sorry

chapter 11

now

Isaiah 11

Isaiah 11:9

verse 9

the way I

read the

Bible is

that the

days are

still to

come

in the

words of

Isaiah

11

9

when they

shall not

hurt

nor destroy

in all

my holy

mountain

for the

earth

shall be

full

of the

knowledge

of the

Lord

as the

waters

cover

the sea

don't we

long for

that day

Jeremiah 23

5

behold the

days are

coming says

the Lord

that I will

raise to

David a

branch of

righteousness

a king

shall reign

and prosper

and execute

judgment and

righteousness

in all the

earth

and the

Lord is doing

that now in a

spiritual sense

ruling over his

people his

church that are

coming from all

the nations

over all the

earth but there

will come a

day when

our God

in the

flesh Jesus

Christ will

bring the

new heavens

the new

earth the

glorious forever

kingdom that

shall never

be moved

and like the

queen who

traveled to

see Solomon

Christ's bride

from all

nations will

one day meet

Jesus we

will say

like she

did oh you

are even

greater than

what we

heard and

imagined now

that we

meet you

in person

we will

say happy

are we

who get

to stand

continually

before you

in your

presence and

hear your

wisdom blessed

be you oh

Lord God you

have delighted

in us and

for our good

the father has

set you on

his throne to

be our king

forevermore

so church we

need a king

on earth our

king was

crowned with

thorns but

in heaven the

Lord Jesus

Christ is

crowned with

many crowns as

we sing he is

our lamb upon

the throne

awake my soul

and sing of

him who died

for thee and

hail him as

thy matchless

king through

all eternity

so praise God

church the

living glorified

Jesus Christ

he is the

king we need

all hail king

Jesus until he

returns

amen let's go to

the Lord in

prayer

father I thank

you for your

word how you

are true to

your word how

all of your

promises find

their yes and

amen in Jesus

Christ and how

your Holy Spirit

helps us to see

how all of

scripture points

to him and

his glory I

thank you for

these dear

brothers and

sisters who

believe in you

by faith

thank you

Lord that we

can confess

together we

see Christ the

king of kings

the true and

better David

lowly shepherd

mighty king

he the champion

in the battle

where oh death

is now thy

sting in our

place he bled

and conquered

we crown him

lord of

majesty his

shall be the

throne forever

and we shall

air his people

be all glory

be to God

amen