The Davidic Covenant: Its Context

Scripture Reading

2 Samuel 7:1–17 NIV84

1 After the king was settled in his palace and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies around him, 2 he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a palace of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” 3 Nathan replied to the king, “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you.” 4 That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying: 5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? 6 I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. 7 Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” ’ 8 “Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I took you from the pasture and from following the flock to be ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men of the earth. 10 And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11 and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: 12 When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod of men, with floggings inflicted by men. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ” 17 Nathan reported to David all the words of this entire revelation.

Introduction

We’re working through the major covenants of Scripture.

Keep in mind, there are numerous other covenants mentioned - covenants of various kinds.

The purpose of this study is not to look at each covenant.

Rather, we are looking at the major covenants that are entered into between God and His people, particularly as they relate to the overall salvation plan of God through Scripture.

This evening, we consider the Davidic Covenant.

This is a Covenant that was entered into by God with His servant David.

If I say that to you, when I refer to David, what is the first thing that comes into your mind?

David was a King!!

The Covenant that God enters into has to do with Kingship…

The promise that God will enter into with David relates to a ruler over God’s people, and promise of a ruler that would rule God’s people in accordance with His perfect and righteous ways and decrees.

As we come to this covenant, keep in mind all that has been discussed in terms of covenants thus far, and what God has been doing.

Particularly, keep in mind the sinful hearts of man, the rebellion by man against God, and God’s mercy in choosing for himself those that would walk in obedience to Him.

As we come to this Davidic Covenant, what I want to do is set the context of the covenant that was entered into.

1. Israel Led to Victory (Joshua)

We have already briefly touched on the fact that Israel was led out of slavery in Egypt.

This happened according to God’s grace and mercy, but through His servant Moses.

In other words, leadership was a good thing. To have someone that was tasked with leading the people of God was something that was good and fitting, and Israel would have been nowhere without it.

After Moses had led Israel to Sinai, and then in the wilderness, Joshua was raised up by God to lead Israel to enter into the promised land.

Once again, I simply mention this to point out the fact that God had prepared and equipped leaders to take charge over the nation Israel, and to lead them in a season as He carried out His purposes.

Both Moses and Joshua were humble leaders that were devoted to the service of the Lord.

What is important to note from this is that God was leading his people. God had promised great promises to His people. He had been with His people through the wilderness wanderings. He had provided leadership for His people through his servants Moses, Aaron and Joshua.

God was with His people.

We then move into the book of Judges.

2. Israel with No King (Judges)

Joshua, having successfully led Israel to take at least some of the promised land captive, died...

Judges 2:8–12 NIV84

8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of a hundred and ten. 9 And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Heres in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel. 11 Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 They forsook the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshiped various gods of the peoples around them. They provoked the Lord to anger

Already we find that a generation grows up that does not know the Lord and does not seek the Lord.

We recall something of this type happening previously in the Scriptures, where people turned against God in their sin.

This, however, was the covenant people of God. They should surely not have been turning away. And yet, at least to some extent they were.

But we must keep in mind that the covenant that God entered into with Abraham was a covenant that God promised to keep. God would certainly keep His covenants. He would show mercy and grace… although not always in the ways that were anticipated.

A wonderful summary is given for us in Judges 2, which really serves as the description of the cycle that would follow

Judges 2:13–19 NASB95

13 So they forsook the Lord and served Baal and the Ashtaroth. 14 The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and He gave them into the hands of plunderers who plundered them; and He sold them into the hands of their enemies around them, so that they could no longer stand before their enemies. 15 Wherever they went, the hand of the Lord was against them for evil, as the Lord had spoken and as the Lord had sworn to them, so that they were severely distressed. 16 Then the Lord raised up judges who delivered them from the hands of those who plundered them. 17 Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they played the harlot after other gods and bowed themselves down to them. They turned aside quickly from the way in which their fathers had walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord; they did not do as their fathers. 18 When the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge; for the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But it came about when the judge died, that they would turn back and act more corruptly than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them and bow down to them; they did not abandon their practices or their stubborn ways.

One further point that is important to note from the book of Judges is the phrase that arises through the latter part of the book… It is the phrase that in fact closes off the book of Judges…

Judges 21:25 NIV84

25 In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.

Now, that is an inetesting statement. The force of this statement, and the significance of it is in the fact that God was the one that raised up judges to deliver the Israelites in their time of need. This was His work. It was by His grace. And he delivered His people out of captivity and bondage to the surrounding nations through these various judges.

The significance of this (tied in with what we considered about Moses and Joshua) was that there was no real need for a King to lead Israel if God was providing sufficient leadership in order to deliver them.

So long as God was their God, and so long as He was over them, and leading them, they had all they needed. He would provided the human means to carry out His divine purpose.

But this leads us to consider…

3. Israel Dissatisfied (1 Samuel)

When we get to 1 Samuel in the Scriptures, we find that Israel was in a very bad place in terms of the worship of God. There is a priest that is functioning, and his name is Eli. But Eli is failing to discipline his sons appropriately, despite the fact that they were dishonouring God.

But God raised up a man by the name of Samuel. He was a prophet, again, someone that was raised up by God in order to lead the nation Israel. But very soon, we find that the Israelites were not satisifed with this.

And so, these people bring a request to Samuel…

1 Samuel 8:1–5 NIV84

1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges for Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn was Joel and the name of his second was Abijah, and they served at Beersheba. 3 But his sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “You are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways; now appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have.”

Now, we need to see some important facts about this request for a king.

Firstly, we see that the people of Israel were not satisifed with God’s appointed means of leading His people. They were not content with God to rule through His chosen servants. They wanted a king.

But we need to see that they were not merely asking for a king. They were asking for a king likea ll the other nations. They had begun to compare themselves to the nations that surrounded them, and failed to realise that their leadership under God was in fact far better for them in many ways.

We find that Samuel was infact angered by this request. But God’s response is in verses 7-8 of that passage....

1 Samuel 8:7–8 NIV84

7 And the Lord told him: “Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. 8 As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.

Later on we will read that Samuel refers to this rejection of him and God as a grievous wickedness....

1 Samuel 12:17 NASB95

17 “Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord, that He may send thunder and rain. Then you will know and see that your wickedness is great which you have done in the sight of the Lord by asking for yourselves a king.”

Now, what are we to make of this?

We must recognise that a king to rule over them was not necessarily an evil thing. In fact, such a king / kings had been prophesied about from long before.

Genesis 17:6 NASB95

6 “I have made you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you, and kings will come forth from you.

Genesis 17:16 NASB95

16 “I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.”

Also, when Jacob was blessing his sons, we read...

Genesis 49:10 NIV84

10 The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.

Certainly, there was a prophetic proclamation by God that kings would come, even as a part of the blessing that was given to Abraham. This should not be seen as merely prophetic of something that would be evil. Rather, it was prophetic of that which would occus by the blessing of God.

Later on, in the law of Moses, we find that there were even laws given concerning Kings that may rule over God’s people - this is in the book of Deuteronomy, written long before the people were now asking for a King.

Deuteronomy 17:14–20 NIV84

14 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,” 15 be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite. 16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the Lord has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.” 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold. 18 When he takes the throne of his kingdom, he is to write for himself on a scroll a copy of this law, taken from that of the priests, who are Levites. 19 It is to be with him, and he is to read it all the days of his life so that he may learn to revere the Lord his God and follow carefully all the words of this law and these decrees 20 and not consider himself better than his brothers and turn from the law to the right or to the left. Then he and his descendants will reign a long time over his kingdom in Israel.

What is clear from this is that a king to rule over Israel was not only included as part of the blessings given to Abraham, and the covenant promises made to Him, but was also prophetic in terms of what would unfold.

One commentator writes this concerning the request of Israel for a King at this time…

Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (Second Edition) Samuel and the Beginning of the Monarchy

The problem was not, then, in wanting a king. It was in wanting one like the nations. Kingship in Canaan at this time was centralized, was absolute, and contained the potential abuse of power. In addition, there was a danger that through alliances, compacts, and treaties, the Israelites would depend on others and not on the Lord. Moreover, since kings would come to the throne by dynasty and not by direct intervention from the Lord, God’s direct rule of the people could be thwarted.

The big problem that Israel would faced (and in fact, which they were warned about) was that the kings that would rule would potentially be tyrannical. They would be demanding in terms of taking from the people of Israel.

1 Samuel 8:11 NIV84

11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.

1 Samuel 8:13 NASB95

13 “He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers.

1 Samuel 8:14 NASB95

14 “He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants.

In fact… this would get so bad in terms of the poor leadership through the King, that they would cry out.

1 Samuel 8:18 NASB95

18 “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.”

So what was the true problem in Israel asking for this King?

The emphasis in 1 Samuel 8 is on Israel’s desire to be like the other nations. This is most clear in

1 Samuel 8:20 NIV84

20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.”

Israel says they will be like the nations in that their king may “judge” them and “fight” their battles.

Israel wanted a king to judge them, despite the fact that Yahweh was their judge. And Israel wanted a king to fight their battles, despite the fact that Yahweh fought their battles for them.

Israel already had a true Judge and King in Yahweh.

Israel had the wrong motives in asking for a king.

They also had the wrong timing in asking for a king.

Although a king had been promised, this was not the time for them to be asking for a king.

God was still ruling and reigning. He was still fighting their battles. He was the one that ought to have been judging them through His chosen servants. But they were in essence rejecting this form of leadership that God had instituted.

Very strikingly, what happens directly after they have their first king instituted (King Saul) is that Saul disobeys God, and the power of God departs from Him.

Further to this, we find that the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines (2 Samuel 6). If you keep in mind that the Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God with His people, this could be seen as a picture of God Himself removing his presence from them, even if only symbolically.

But further than this, we find that the Israelites would indeed suffer as a consequence of their request for a king.

Again, while it was not intrinsically evil / sinful to have a king ruling over them, the terms on which they wanted a king… the timing in which they wanted the king… ran contrary to God’s intended purposes… Nonetheless God allowed them to have what they requested.

In considering this, One author writes:

Israel’s sinful demand meant that the kingship would be a judgment on them for rejecting Yahweh. In asking for a king who would judge them, God gave Israel exactly what they asked for—an earthly king who would seek his own. And that is what we see in the history of Israel’s monarchy, as Israel’s kings were out for themselves. Outside of a few exceptions, Israel’s kings were wicked and oppressive. Even the ideal king, David, had his moral failings. In many ways, the monarchy was a judgment upon Israel.

Before we close, I would like to point out one further aspect regarding the establishment of the earthly king over Israel.

Prior to this point in Scripture (1 and 2 Samuel) there were no real designated prophets in Israel. There were spokesmen of God. Moses was one.

But Samuel was really the beginning of the prophets for Israel. In one sense, this office was a blessing from God, in that the prophet would be the mouthpiece of God in order to exercise a balance / check that the king would continue to operate and function in accordance with the stipulations of the law of God.

Yes, the king would rule. But God would use his prophets to confront these kings when they went astray.

In the words of one author…

For every David there must also be a Nathan who can come directly into the king’s presence and confront his decisions and actions by the authority of the word of God. [Gentry/Wellum]

This is the groundwork that we need to consider as we will now consider the covenant relationship that God will enter into with David. We will look more at that in our next time together.

Application / Conclusion

God’s Ways and Timing are always Right. We ought to walk in humble submission before Him.

We can rejoice that our King (we’ll look more at Him in coming weeks) is perfect.

We have a perfectly wise King, who rules from His seat in the heavenly places.

The Nation Israel suffered under the hand of earthly rulers. Even the best of earthly rulers. Not so with Jesus Christ.

In fact, we are exceedingly blessed through the perfect rule and reign of our King in glory.