You Need A King - The Davidic Covenant Part 1

[0:00] We're in 2 Samuel chapter 7 today. Well, as you're turning to 2 Samuel 7, I'll explain what series we are in right now.

[0:15] 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.

[0:29] 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.

[0:39] 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.

[0:51] 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.

[1:01] 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.

[1:12] 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.

[1:31] The Mosaic covenant provided God's law for that kingdom. Now, in the Davidic covenant, God is promising a human king over his kingdom.

[1:44] God establishes purpose over all of creation by giving to the first federal head, Adam, dominion over all that God had made.

[1:56] 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?

[2:07] 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.

[2:24] 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.

[2:37] 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.

[2:48] I'm going to read verses 8 through 16. Now, therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David.

[3:02] 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.

[3:15] 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.

[3:27] 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.

[3:51] 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.

[4:07] 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.

[4:20] 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.

[4:34] 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.

[4:47] Thanks be to God. You may be seated. Let's pray.

[5:00] O Lord Jesus, in your glorified body, you walked with your disciples.

[5:17] 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.

[5:35] 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.

[5:49] 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.

[6:04] 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.

[6:18] By the power of your Holy Spirit, we ask for your glory. Amen. Quote, The king must die that the nation may live.

[6:34] 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.

[6:48] 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.

[6:59] 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.

[7:18] 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.

[7:33] 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.

[7:47] 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.

[8:02] 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.

[8:19] 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.

[8:35] 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.

[8:47] 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.

[9:02] 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.

[9:20] 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.

[9:32] 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.

[9:49] 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.

[10:05] 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.

[10:23] 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.

[10:41] 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.

[10:54] 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.

[11:06] 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.

[11:25] 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.

[11:40] 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.

[11:51] 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.

[12:02] 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.

[12:13] 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.

[12:35] 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.

[12:45] 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.

[12:59] 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.

[13:10] 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.

[13:28] 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.

[13:42] 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.

[13:53] 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.

[14:06] 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.

[14:19] 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.

[14:37] 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.

[14:53] 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.

[15:09] 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.

[15:20] 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.

[15:30] 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.

[15:43] 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?

[16:00] 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 chapter 8 verse 20?

[16:19] 1 Kings chapter 8 verse 20. How did the Lord keep his promises?

[16:30] And how does the Bible interpret God's own fulfillment of what he promised? 1 Kings chapter 8 verse 20. The son of David, this promised seed who would be carrying on this dynasty over Israel was Solomon.

[16:51] 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.

[17:08] 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.

[17:22] 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.

[17:34] 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.

[17:55] 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 chapter 9 verses 1 through 8.

[18:10] 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.

[18:23] 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.

[18:38] 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.

[18:51] 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.

[19:05] 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.

[19:24] When blessing depends on man's obedience we suffer. When blessing depends on man's obedience we are under a covenant of works.

[19:35] 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.

[19:51] 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

[21:29] 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

[22:57] 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 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 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

[24:05] 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

[25:11] 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 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 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

[26:21] 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 chapter 9 Isaiah 9 starting at verse 6 this is how the Lord

[27:25] God fulfilled the promises of the Davidic covenant in Christ's first coming Isaiah 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

[28:32] 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

[29:33] 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

[30:36] 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

[32:07] Isaiah look at Isaiah chapter 9 I'm sorry chapter 11 now Isaiah 11 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

[33:14] 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

[34:36] 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