The Davidic Covenant, Part 2

Introduction:

As we began talking about last week, in the world we live in today, there are quite a few things going on that can get us down. We live and work…and we deal with happy days and we deal with sorrow.

David’s life was a lot like that too. He had good times and bad…there were days when he felt blessed and days where he literally ran for his life from the wrath of King Saul. Many of the Psalms of David were probably written during these times of trial and sorrow.

But the Lord always brought David through those tough times and He never abandoned David. I think it’s very important here to see that God doesn’t promise that faithful Christians will never face trials, but He does promise to get us through it....and the fact is that God makes many promises to us. God made promises to Abraham that he would have a son and that He would make Israel a great nation from Abraham’s ancestry…Today we call it the Abrahamic Covenant. You’ll remember that we studied that one in Genesis 15 a while back. For this discourse, we will look at yet another promise made to the Nation of Israel and her leaders…we call this particular one the Davidic Covenant because it was made with David.

a. Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:8-17

I’m going to ask you to stand with me, if you are able, as we read from God’s Holy, Perfect, Sufficient and inerrant Word.

<Pray>

Thank you, and you may be seated.

Now what we see here is that God’s covenant with David contains 10 “I will” statements from God. Each part represents a particular promise to David and the Nation of Israel from the Lord and I believe each one has a particular lesson for us even all these many years later... So what we are going to do is split those 10 up over the next 5 weeks and discuss 2 at the time.

Last week:

Enhanced Reputation

A New House

II. Major Points: God Promises...

3. Peace

4. A Strong Dynasty

III. Point #3: Peace

Explanation

2 Samuel 7:11 NASB95

even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you.

So I think it is important to see here that the Lord isn’t promising a perpetual peace....what He is promising is that He will give David time to rest. This isn’t unusual because God has done this before at other moments.

2 Samuel 7:1 NASB95

Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,

Because think about it…if the Lord was promising the Israelites a forever peace from their enemies, then He sure dropped the ball on that one. Israel constantly has to fight for its own survival....

But the Lord is promising a momentary rest from their enemies.

Illustration

I’m reminded of George Washington and the Continental Army that winter of 1777. The Americans had lost practically every battle they had been in for the previous year. George Washington had the commanders working under him undermining him and trying to get him fired so they could take his job. He had lost the city of New York to the British.

Things were looking bad....Washington was under attack from his enemies from England and enemies within his own army....Then came the winter of 1777 and he found himself and his army snowed in at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. While he was low on food and supplies, the whole ordeal turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Because they were snowed in, unhappy soldiers couldn’t desert and the enemy couldn’t get to him. They had time to rest, think, and train to be a better army. And when the Continental Army came out of Valley Forge a few weeks later, they were stronger, more disciplined, and ready to face the enemy.

Application

God is promising David that he will give him a time of rest. He won’t allow the enemy to just continually assault him. There will be a break so that he can gather himself.

And folks, I don’t know what you have going on in your life, but whatever it is, remember that the enemy can only go as far as the Lord allows him to. Everything may seem to be piling up, but just like God promised David a break, the Lord Jesus promises us a break too.

Matthew 11:28 NASB95

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

But beyond this, remember that God is in control, church. The enemy will attack and attack and attack, but there will be rest around the corner. My poor family, my brother-in-law Stephen, has been assaulted by as much heartbreak as I can imagine the last couple of weeks. But in the midst of all of that, we have seen God work....we have seen the generosity of His people....and we have seen that God is faithful....there is always a break around the corner. The devil will unleash his evil at every turn, but the devil is NOT in charge....God is. And do remember, that no matter how much is on you right now, God has promised us rest.

How many of you are glad that God gives us a break now and then, amen?

IV. Point #4: A Strong Dynasty

Explanation

2 Samuel 7:11 NASB95

even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you.

So earlier, the Lord promised David that his name would be great. He promised David that his son, Solomon, would get to build God a new “house or temple.” In this case, God is saying that he will make DAVID great house too…but God isn’t talking about a regular house or a castle that a king might live in…he is talking about something more stable and long-lasting: his dynasty.

So what is a dynasty? A dynasty is a ruling family where power is passed down from generation to generation. So God had already promised David that his name would be great and his family would be respected, but He is going a step further here. He is saying “David, not only will YOU be king…not only will Solomon be King....but your grandchildren and great grandchildren and great great grandchildren will successfully rule Israel. They will be great like you…and they will prosper.

What an awesome promise. Question…if you could do something that would guarantee success and happiness for your great grandchildren or great great grandchildren that you will never even get to meet....would you do it? Sure you would. Because, though you’ve never even met them, they are still yours amen? They are still your flesh and blood, and you want the best for them.

Illustration

One of the most remarkable men I have ever gotten to study was John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller grew up with nothing. His father regularly cheated on his mother and would disappear for weeks at the time. He was a liar…a cheat…and if Rockefeller’s mother ever did manage to get any money, his father took it a blew it on gambling or booze. He was about as sorry an individual as you can imagine and left his wife to basically be a single parent.

John grew up of course, and by the time he retired, he had acquired enough wealth that 7 generations of Rockefellers followed him and ALL of them have benefitted from the wealth he acquired.

Say what you want about his business practices....but that man paid for his great great great great grandchildren’s college education. That’s what you call generational wealth, amen?

Application

You know, I’ll never be a king. I’ll never have that kind of dynasty. I’ll never be an incredibly financially wealthy man…that isn’t in the cards, I don’t believe.

But I know this: If I can invest in Sienna’s life and teach her about the Lord....and she invests in her children’s live sin the same way…If I could somehow guarantee that my great grandchildren would hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ....I will do everything I can to make that happen....even though I know I won’t be there for it.

Church: The Lord might not be promising us and our descendants a great dynasty to rule a kingdom....but he has promised us that we can share in His glory forever in heaven. It is up to us to share the Gospel with our kids and grandkids…and get to church.

How many of you know that stuff matters to the next generations?

V. Conclusion

a. Let me ask you this morning: are you investing in those generations so that the Lord can bring it to fruition…even after we are gone?

b. Let’s Pray