God's Covenant With David

God made two very important covenants in the Old Testament, first with Abraham and then with David, His chosen king on earth. God called Abram, and blessed him with a promise of Christ (Genesis 12:1-3). Abraham was to be a blessing because of his faith in God and the nations that bless Abraham will also be blessed. God brings the whole world into the realm of blessing by just blessing Abraham.

With David, the Lord God made a promise that the Messiah would come from the line of David. David was different in that he was the king, and all his descendants would be kings. To continue ruling the kingdom, they must obey and keep the laws of the almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The covenant with Abraham was renewed in Genesis 17 when Abraham was ninety-nine years old and God changed his name from Abram to Abraham. To retain the blessings of God, the seeds of Abraham must keep the covenant of God. Otherwise, they will be discarded by God as was the case of the first king of the Israelites, King Saul.

Genesis 12:1-3

• Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee (v.1).
• And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great and thou shalt be a blessing (v.2).
• And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (v.3).

Genesis 17:7-9

• And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee (v.7).
• And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God (v.8).
• And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations (v.9).

David, a descendant of Abraham was the second king of Israel chosen by God. He came from a family of eight sons and was the youngest of them all. As a young shepherd boy, David killed Goliath, a giant of the enemies of Israel with a sling and five stones. He used a sling and with a stone he hit Goliath and killed him.

David replaced King Saul as king. David was imperfect as all the inhabitants of the world. He committed two heinous sins, murder and adultery. When confronted by Samuel, he did not blame them on anybody, but duly repented to God. All sins can be forgiven but sinning against the Holy Spirit. God forgave David even though the sins were severe, for he sorely repented and David did not go scot free. His two sons, Absalom and Adonijah sought to take his throne from him. He had to flee for his life. His son by adultery to Bathsheba died, his daughter, Tamar was raped by her step-brother, Amnon., the son of David. 

David was a man after God's heart. As a man, he did commit adultery and murder, but when confronted by the prophet Nathan, he repented (2 Samuel 12:13). He acknowledged his sin in Psalm 51, saying, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. (v.2) Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. (3) For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

• He told God of his enemies like Saul who pursued him and tried to kill him (Psalm 57). "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast."

David turned to God and vowed perpetual service unto Him. See Psalm 61

• "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. (v. 2) From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

In Psalm 110, David spoke of the kingdom, the priesthood, the conquest and the passion of Christ.

• "The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.

David is really worthy of God's blessings as a king and the ancestor of the merciful Lord Jesus Christ. Solomon may be the wisest of men, but David's heart is more pure than most. In different psalms, he praised the truth of God, His providence for the people, God's guidance and support, mercy and goodness (Psalm 138, 139, 143, 144, 145).

Matthew 12:31

• Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Saul, the first king of Israel was unfaithful to God and God replaced him with David. Samuel ordained David in his family household. After Saul was killed when he lost in a battle with his enemies, David became the future king. God chose David to be the king of Israel and according to Jeremiah, the prophet, the Lord of righteousness will come from the line of David, reign, prosper and execute judgment and justice in the earth. This prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was born centuries later in the New Testament.

God promises to David. First, David was anointed, and the Spirit of the Lord descended upon him. The Lord prophesied that David would build a house for God, and that He would establish his throne for ever.

1 Samuel 16:12-13

• When David appeared before Samuel after his seven brothers, God said, "Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
• Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

2 Samuel 7:13-17

• The word "forever" was mentioned three times. God placed a lot of emphasis on the word. It showed how serious it was to God. Ordinarily, He would not utter the word over and over again.
• (13) He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever ...

• (16) And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

Solomon, David's son was depicted as a sinner and God rebuked him in 1 Kings 11:11-13 after Solomon married foreign women and worshipped their gods: "Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou has not kept my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.

1 Kings 11:11-13

• (v.12) Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son.

• (v.13) Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant's sake and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.

The promise to establish David's kingdom can only be when the descendants of David are obedient to the Lord God. David was a man after God's heart. When he sinned, he truly repented as seen from the many Psalms that David wrote.

The covenant is repeated again and again in Kings and Chronicles. David in 1 Kings 2:4 told Solomon, "The Lord may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, Of thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.

Continue with 1 Kings 8:25 where Solomon prays, "Therefore now, Lord God of Israel, keep with my servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me." See also 1 Kings 6:11,12; 9:4-9; 1 Chron.22:8-13; 28:1-10).

God’s covenant with David was considered to be an eternal covenant. God promised to David that “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever." (2 Samuel 7:16). The declaration to the new king in Psalm 2:7 served as an affirmation of the divine promise. It also acts as a renewal of God’s relationship with the house of David in the person of the new king. This prophecy foretold of the coming of the Messiah from the line of David.

Second, the expression “this day have I begotten you” expresses a symbolic “new birth,” a process by which the son of David became the son of God. Adoption was common in Israel. Rachel adopted Bilhah’s son as her own son and Jacob adopted Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph’s sons, as his own sons (Genesis 48:5). By this process of adoption, the new Davidic king became an heir of the divine promise to David and a representative of God before the people.

From the line of David there followed a slew of kings which succeeded him. Solomon who was the wisest man in his days succeeded David, but his enormous harem of wives turned his heart away from God and the kingdom of his son, Rehoboam was taken away from him, and Israel was divided into two kingdoms, Judah and Samaria. Later on, in the New Testament, the first chapter of Matthew described that Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20) from the line of David (vs. 6, 16). Because Jesus was the son of God, and God is eternal, so David's line will be eternal.

Jer. 23:5-6

• Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
• In his days Judah shall be saved, and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

God's everlasting covenant with man is for him to listen to God, hear and obey Him so his soul shall live and God will not turn away from him. He must completly rely on God for everything, and turn to Him for guidance.

Isaiah 55:3-4

• Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
• Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.

Jeremiah 32:40

• And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

A kingdom will have a king, a government, a capital, and an international system of laws. God has already delegated "all power in heaven and in earth" to His own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Biblically, there is a spiritual kingdom, ruled by God, in the heart of every believer. This is an invisible spiritual kingdom. However, there is also a literal kingdom, ruled by Jesus that will commence after His Second Coming after He separates the sheep from the goats. There will be a reign of 1,000 (figurative) years. This is the “true kingdom” on earth. The prophets prophesied that a descendant of David would take the throne as king, who would be the Lord's anointed, the Messiah (Jer. 33:15-16; Amos 9:11; Micah 5:2). Jesus was born in Bethlehem of the Holy Spirit.

A Thousand Years (allegorical)

2 Peter 3:8

• But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

JESUS CHRIST'S KINGDOM IS FOREVER

Ps. 89:1-4

• 1. I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

• For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

• I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

• Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah!

Ps. 89:34-37

• My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

• Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

• His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

• It shall be established for ever as the moon, and a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

Are you a Christian? Please answer the following questions.

1. How did you become a Christian?
2. Is your life not resurrected spiritually from a life of sin? Yes/No
3. Are you not spiritually in the kingdom of God on earth? Yes/No
4. If you are a Christian, is this not your FIRST RESURRECTION from death? (Rev.20:6) Yes/No
5. If your answer is "No," you can not claim to be a Christian because you are not resurrected from sin and spiritual death.

There are two deaths in a man's life, a spiritual death and a physical death. This only applies to Christians. As resurrected souls, Christians living on earth pay homage to their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. This is their first resurrection which is spiritual for they are still living on the earth. The Messiah has not yet come down for the final judgment of the whole world. Jesus, the Messiah is coming soon! The Bible only confirms that Jesus only comes again the second time to judge the world.

Revelation 20:6 records, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God, and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

Those who are living on the earth and have undergone "spiritual death with Jesus" are resurrected spiritually to become Christians (followers of Christ) will have no problem with the second death when they die physically, their bodies will resurrect and live with Jesus Christ eternally in heaven, and not on earth for the earth is His footstool (Isa. 66:1; Acts 7:49).

Isa.66:1; Acts 7:49

• Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool:

The Bible - David and Goliath - YouTube

▶ 3:47https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdyFGUh_Kpo

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