December 13, 2020 - The Davidic Covenant
Notes
Transcript
Continuing on in our OT series, last week, you guys will recall that we discussed Joshua and Judges.
• We saw how Joshua had been appointed the new leader of Israel (taking over for Moses)...
• ...and we saw how he held fast to his belief that God - was God...
• ...and that His promises stand. (*Spied land of Canaan – 40 years go by)
• Joshua had lead Israel in Canaan:
• Crossing over into the land
• Taking the land – FINALLY taking hold of God’s promise!
• Dividing the land – In Obedience to God
• and then charging the people to 'serve' the Lord their God.
• The people of Israel responded to that charge by saying - "Of course we'll serve the Lord our God, who brought our fathers out of bondage".
• Is that what happened?
• No, in the book of Judges, we see very quickly the people of Israel turning from the Lord and worshipping other gods.
• The pattern that was established throughout the book was:
SLIDE:
Relapse
Ruin
Repentance
Restoration (repeat)
• 8 times this cycle plays itself out in the book of Judges.
• And so we see the depravity of man on display, as Israel deteriorates.
• NOW – in the book following Judges…the book of Ruth…
· We see the book of Ruth LOOKING BACK at the time of Judges…
· And we see in the book of Ruth that EVEN THROUGH this time of deterioration, God remained steadfast to His Covenant promise to Abraham...
• ...that He would remain faithful.
• And we see God's plan taking shape and leading us to the One true king...King Jesus...
• But first, Israel had other plans.
• Samuel ended up being the last of the judges...
• ...and while he did appoint his sons to be judges following himself, it didn't work out.
• They didn't follow in the footsteps of Samuel.
Mankind is – a MESS
• In addition to this, the Philistines were the sworn enemies of Israel and they went at it all the time...
• ...And so there was this consistent threat of war
• Due to this, the people begin to demand that a King rule over them.
In Samuel 8:5 we see the elders of Israel come to Samuel and make a request…
5 and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.”
• See the nations surrounding Israel had kings, and so Israel thought - Well, what WE have isn't working...we want a king!...
• ...That will fix our problems!
• And so...Israel's first king is appointed...Saul.
• If we had one sentence to describe Saul's life...It would be:
• "It's not how you start...it's how you finish"
• See Saul started out really well, getting some victories under his belt early on...
• but then experienced a falling away from the Lord thru disobedience.
• NOW - What did we say the Book of Judges was about?
SLIDE:
Book of Judges
Book of Judges
• And so God judges Saul when he doesn't follow God's plan.
• A couple incidents go down where he doesn't follow God's commands...
• ...One being an offering, and the other dealing with destroying a people.
• See God told Saul to go destroy all the Amalekites, and all that they had...including their livestock.
• So, instead of actually doing that...Saul decides it was time to carry out his own plan.
• He takes Agag (king of the Amalekites) alive and he also takes the best of their livestock.
(livestock to be used as a sacrifice to God)…
· God wasn’t happy.
· And so when it comes to obedience to God VS. sacrifice for God
SLIDE:
Obedience to God vs Sacrifice for God
…God wants - obedience…why??
· Because first off – what is obedience (true biblical obedience)?
· Here’s what we know…
What’s POPULAR: Happiness
What’s UNPOPULAR: Holiness
What’s BIBLICAL: JOY in Holiness
Obedience = joyful submission to God.
· In this case, what was Saul’s sacrifice?
· It was him saying – “I know best, I’m going to do THIS INSTEAD”
• God wasn't happy....
10 The word of the Lord came to Samuel:
11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me and has not performed my commandments.” And Samuel was angry, and he cried to the Lord all night.
• From this point on...it was a downward spiral for Saul.
• To the extent that God looks to appoint another king.
• So who did God look to? (BethLEhemite)
1 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
• Which son? -- his youngest son....David.
• David was the great-grandson of Ruth and Boaz.
• David was God's choice to be the next King of Israel.
• What's interesting about David being anointed King by Samuel is that there was no real hoopla that came along with this anointing.
• No inaugural service...
• ...None of that.
• God anoints David king, and yet Saul continues on with his duties as king...
• ...with David - kind of hangin out in the background.
• What God does though, is He removes His Spirit from Saul, and places His Spirit on David.
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.
14 Now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him.
• NOW – the Spirit being WITH David allows David to be successful in his battles, and over time, the people begin to rally around David.
• The people even begin to sing this song, and it makes it's way to Saul's ears.
SLIDE:
“Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
• So Saul realizes that God is now behind David, and his jealousy of David grows, and grows, and grows.
• To the point where multiple times, Saul seeks to kill David.
• David on the other hand, never attempts to take Saul out, even though he has opportunities.
David KNEW that Saul was out to get him…yet he doesn’t retaliate to take Saul out first.
• Now, most people know the different stories of David.
• David and Goliath
• David and Bathsheba
• The death of David's son
• David's sons trying to kill him (their dad)
• We've heard of these stories...
• What I'd like to do today is focus in on the Davidic Covenant...
SLIDE: The Davidic Covenant
The Davidic Covenant
The Davidic Covenant
• ...in keeping with our Covenantal theme.
• We want to see the promises of God play out thru this Old Testament.
• Let's get right to the Covenant.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
• With this Covenant we're going to look at a few things:
1. The result of the Covenant
2. The means that lead to the result
• Let's read thru this again, and as we go, highlight some things… (SKIP BELOW)
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men,
15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.
16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”
17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your [offspring](=singular) after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish [his kingdom]. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the [throne of his kingdom forever.] 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and [your kingdom] shall be made sure forever before me. [Your throne shall be established forever.]’ ” 17 In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.
• The same 3 promises that we saw with the Abrahamic Covenant, we see reflected in this Covenant as well.
• If you remember (Abrahamic Covenant: Land, Descendants, Blessing)
• We see the same thing here.
• In verse 10, jumping up a bit we read:
10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly,
• And so here we see a reference to a place where the people of Israel will dwell.
• Then we see God get into the descendants of David…
• Verse 12 says - I will raise up your [offspring](=singular) after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish [his kingdom]
• So God's referring to a descendant of David's...
• But then God kicks it up a notch...He says - 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the [throne of his kingdom forever.]
• Ok, so this descendant that's being referred to here is going to build a house for God's name, and His throne will be established forever.
• Is this referring to David's son - Solomon?
• I don't think so - Solomon is depicted as a sinner and the kingdom could never be secure in the hands of a sinner.
• Listen to what it says in 1 Kings 11:11-12:
11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since this has been your practice and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes that I have commanded you, I will surely tear the kingdom from you and will give it to your servant.
12 Yet for the sake of David your father I will not do it in your days, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son.
• Clearly Solomon's a sinner...it says here that he didn't even keep God's covenant.
• And so the Kingdom cannot be established as long as David's descendants are disobedient.
• But we can't forget the overriding theme of this covenant - that God will establish, thru the line of David, an everlasting Throne and Kingdom.
• 3 times we see this phrase – forever
• And so when God declares that something will be forever...eternity is taking shape.
• And so who can accomplish this?
• See Israel learned over the centuries following David and Solomon that disobedience in her king always brought the nation to ruin.
• BUT...they also knew that GOD SAID that the throne of David would be established forever.
• So they knew at some point, someone would come along who would fulfill the covenant.
• A succession of imperfect kings could never fulfill the promise...
• ...and so if this was going to happen, God Himself would have to rise up a righteous, obedient Son of David who would take the throne.
• Who could possibly fulfill this covenant?
• No not Donald Trump...not Joe Biden....
· Not Lebron James
· Not the Pope
• Of course....Jesus Christ.
• Now, with this being Christ...let's connect some dots.
SLIDE: The Davidic Covenant: Fulfilled by Jesus Christ
The Davidic Covenant
The Davidic Covenant
• Jesus Himself claimed He would build a temple.
• And part of the Covenant in verse 13 says - 13 He shall build a house for my name,
• Well, in Mark 14:58 we read this:
58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ”
• Jesus also refers to this in Matt. 26:61, 27:40; Mark 15:29, and John 2:19-22)
• Jesus also claimed to possess an eternal throne.
• Part of the Covenant in verse 13 says - I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever...
• In Matt. 19:28-29 we read this:
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
• Jesus also refers to having an imperishable Kingdom.
• In john 18:36 we read:
36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”
• So God here in the Davidic Covenant says that He will establish David's "house", "kingdom", and "throne"...forever.
• Another pointer that this Covenant is pointing specifically to Christ is Hebrews 1:8:
8 But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.
• So the surety of the Covenant with David lies ultimately in the fact that God Himself would come as King and sit on the throne.
• So even with a Covenant that has conditions...those conditions are met by - - God.
Now let’s look at…
SLIDE: The Davidic Covenant: In Light of David’s Sin
The Davidic Covenant
The Davidic Covenant
• So - there's something that we have to address here.
• We all know that David was a sinner right?
• He had some doozies!
• Adultery with Bathsheba...
• The murder of her husband Uriah
• Here's the question -
SLIDE: Question:
How did God simply forgive David of his sins, prior to Jesus coming to earth?
David lived BEFORE Jesus walked the earth…and yet David STILL SINNED…
· How did God handle those sins?
• Remember the story?
• Nathan (the prophet) comes to David and tells him a story about a guy with some sheep...
• ...David ends up indicting himself, and then Nathan says – “You’re THAT man!” and then David says:
• "I have sinned against the Lord"
• What's Nathan's response?
13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.
• So God here - - justifies the ungodly.
• Let's pretend you send your son off to school one morning, and hours later you get a call that a crazy guy stormed the school, and killed a bunch of kids, your son included.
• They take this guy before a judge, and he admits to doing it.
• The judge says - ok, you're free to go...you promise not to do it again?
• How would you feel??
Be honest…how would you feel??
• Any judge who would render such a verdict wouldn't be a judge a day longer.
Listen to how the Bible describes that sort of Judge…
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.
• The book of Proverbs calls it an abomination to justify the ungodly, and yet that's what God does for you and me everyday.
• And so God is radically unjust in justifying the ungodly!
• Now, do you see the problem that God had in justifying David (sinners like us)?
• Does America wrestle with this question?
· Does AMERICA think to itself – HOW CAN GOD JUSTIFY US – we’re SOO EVIL???
· NO America doesn’t contemplate this..!
• INSTEAD – everyone complains about how God is so mean to us...when bad things happen
• Not that He is gracious and UNJUST in forgiving us!!
SLIDE: Question:
What did God do to solve the problem of the glory of His justice being compromised in forgiving the sin (adultery and murder) of David?
• HE KILLS HIS SON!
25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.
• HE KILLED HIS SON!
• When David tramples His name in the dirt, and God comes along and says - "I forgive you..you may still be King"...
• The WHOLE of Creation LOOKS down and cries - NO, until they see 1000 years later God saying...
• ..."This is how seriously I take my forgiveness of David...I slay My Son in his place."
• This is the Covenant Keeping God we serve.
• The Davidic Covenant points to the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
• ...His eternal Throne
• ...His eternal Kingdom
• ...Established forever.
1 “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
3 Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.
• The very same mercy and faithfulness that guarantees David an eternal kingdom...
• ...can guarantee YOU all the joy and righteousness and peace of that kingdom.
God is saying to you this morning: if you will come to me empty-handed and hungry...
· ...willing to receive what I give, then I will bind myself with an oath to treat you forever with the same mercy and faithfulness that I have demonstrated in my covenant with David
SUMMARY:
The Davidic Covenant
The Sufficiency of Jesus Christ
Jesus IS SUFFICIENT: WHY?
Jesus Fulfills the Davidic Covenant (His throne (reign) has been established forever)
The Sufficiency of His Work on the Cross - to COVER SIN...
We Serve a Covenant Keeping God (His Work - His faithfulness and His mercy saves us – His covenant with Abraham said that even if Abraham (the people of God) BREAK the covenant, God would take the curse on Himself!)
Can we praise Him for this!!??
Can we TRUST Him?
- May we do both!
- May we LIVE for Him… Let’s pray