The Promised King

Since our reading last week, the period of the Judges came to an end. There arose a judge and prophet named Samuel. Through Samuel, the first king was established. It did not take long for Saul to fail and this ultimately led God to reject Saul as king. Later in the story God calls David to be the next king. This is problematic for Saul because David grows in popularity and he has to come to terms with the fact that his son will never sit on the throne of Israel. Saul and David have a contentious relationship. You could say that Saul was fighting two wars: one against the Philistines and the other against David.

David becomes king through much difficulty and sees much success in his military campaigns. He takes the city of Jerusalem and he establishes it as Israel’s religious and political capitol. The nation has been struck by more than one civil war at this point in addition to the wars they have fought between other nations. Their history has been rocky, but the nation appears to be on the rebound as David unites the tribes once again and establishes order.

At the opening of 2 Samuel 7, David is living in Jerusalem but laments that he has a home, but the ark of God does not. From the day the tabernacle furniture was created, it has had no permanent home. It was always moved from place to place in a temporary structure. He wanted to change that by building a temple. He says this to Nathan the prophet, but God comes to Nathan that night and gives him a message for the king.

Let’s pick up in 2 Samuel 7:4.

2 Samuel 7:4–7 NASB95

But in the same night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, “Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in? “For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. “Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’ ” ’

God responds to David’s desire to build a temple through the prophet Nathan. In verse three, Nathan told David to go do what he wanted to do. “You want to go build a temple David? Sounds good to me. Go do what you have to do. God is with you.” But then God comes to Nathan and says, “Whoa. Time out. Don’t I get a say in this?” God proceeds to point out that from the day he called Israel out of Egypt, he has had no house to dwell in. He has been moving wherever the tabernacle has been and it has worked out thus far. Now take a look back at all the things God had spoken to Israel. At what point did he ask them to build him a house? The answer is never. But God is not done yet.

Our plans, no matter how good we think they are, should line up with God’s plans.

What David wants to do is not a bad thing. his desire for a temple is to honor God by giving him a permanent house instead of a tent to dwell in. He is looking at his living situation and looks at God’s living situation and says, “How can I live like this while my God does not have the same honor? I have to do something.” But God has other plans.

2 Samuel 7:8–17 NASB95

“Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. “I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. “I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, 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. “When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom. “He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” ’ ” In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

When covenants are written, there is generally a preamble identifying the stronger party and a prologue containing a summary of the prior relationship between the stronger and lesser parties. We see some of that structure here in verse eight and the first half of verse nine. God recounts how he brought David from the field as a shepherd, made him his shepherd over all Israel, and led him on a successful military campaign.

From the second half of verse nine to the end of verse sixteen, God spells out the covenantal blessings and curses. First, he says he will make David’s name great, similar to how he promised Abraham a great name. He then promises a place for Israel to live and rest from their enemies, a final fulfilment in which we still wait. But he says something interesting in verse eleven. It says, “The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you.” In other words, “David, I know you wanted to build a house for me, but I’’m going to build a house for you.”

When David dies, God promises to raise up one of David’s children to establish his kingdom. It will be David’s son who will build a house for the Lord and the Lord will establish his kingdom forever. God promises that his lovingkindness will not leave him like he did Saul, and that when the king does wrong he will be corrected. But no matter what happens, his kingdom will last forever.

For the first time since Genesis, we have advancement of the one who will come and crush the head of the serpent. In Genesis 3:15 God said one will come from the woman who will gain ultimate victory over the serpent, the deceiver. As we read through Genesis, we begin to wonder where this man is going to come from. It can’t be Cain or Abel because Abel dies and Cain murders him. But their son Seth carries on this line. Then God brings judgment on the world and saves one family: Noah. So for Genesis 3:15 to be true, a descendant of Noah must be it. But who? Generations later, God covenants with Abraham and we discover that this offspring of the woman must come from him. Then the covenant is renewed with Isaac and Jacob, who has twelve sons, and in Genes 49, as Jacob is dying, he says that the scepter will not depart from Judah. Now your New American Standard Bible says until Shiloh comes. Now there are two versions of this word in Hebrew. One pertains to the biblical city of Shiloh and it is used 32 times in the Old Testament. The word we see here is used just this one time and it is the other variant of the word. What you need to understand about the Hebrew language is that it is very picturesque. The words are often loaded with meaning beyond what our English equivalent may convey. The word used in this instance does not refer to the biblical city which does not appear again until Joshua. It means “he whose it is.” So let’s put that back into the clause. “Until he whose it is comes.” What its the “it” that he refers to? The scepter.

Genesis 49:10 CSB

The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet until he whose right it is comes and the obedience of the peoples belongs to him.

David, a member of the tribe of Judah, is inaugurated as king over Israel and now we see here in 2 Samuel God’s intention for the one who will crush the head of the serpent, who will rule forever, to come from David.

This passage is a pivotal moment in David’s life, for Israel, and for the rest of us. The promise he has kept sees it’s fulfillment in part here in 2 Samuel but also in the New Testament in the coming of Jesus Christ, but also for our future hope when Christ will come again.

Because God has kept his promises in the past, we can trust him to keep them even now.

Our time table is not God’s time table. He does not do things the way we always want or expect him to. But we can be sure that if he has promised something, he will keep that promise. God is not fickle like you or I are. He does not forget the promises he has made. But he does not always indicate when he intends to fulfill the promise. When God called me to ministry, I knew that calling was to pastor a local church but it took thirteen years before he fulfilled that calling. There were days I questioned the calling but I was always reassured of his original promise.

Can you trust that God will keep his promises? David had an immense trust in the Lord. It is evident though his reaction to what Nathan the prophet had spoken but also in all of the psalms he wrote. David trusted God for something he would not see in his lifetime.

When we come to faith in Christ, we trust him with our eternal soul. Why don’t we trust him with our finances? Why don’t we trust him with our job? With our retirement? With our daily provisions? What have you sensed God promising you? Do you know? Are you afraid to trust him? No matter what season of life you are in, God has had a plan and a purpose for it since before the world was spoken into existence. How is God calling you to glorify him in the oilfield? At the bank? At school? With your time? With your finances? With your job? With your future?

Because God has kept his promises in the past, you can trust him to keep them in the future. God kept his promise to David by sending Jesus. He promised to return and so we patiently await his return. Should we not also trust that he has a plan for us in the interim?

We can trust him for salvation. He has promised that if we turn from our sins and look upon his son, we will find salvation for our souls. We can trust him to provide. He promises repeatedly that he will take care of his children. We can trust him to steer us on the right path. Our plans, no matter how good they are, might not be his plans, but when we follow his plans, we can be sure they are for our good.