50. GOD'S PROMISE TO DAVID

"Thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee."

Aim

To show that the promises made to David will be fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ.

Synopsis

Long ago, God told Moses of His great purpose with the world. "As truly as live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Yahweh" (Num 14:21). God will bring this to pass when He sends the Lord Jesus Christ back to the earth to rule as king on David's throne.

Samuel 7:1-17

DAVID'S WISH DENIED: 2 Samuel 7:1-7

Now that he was king of Israel and God had given him rest from all his enemies, David realised how wonderfully God had blessed him. He wanted to do something to show God how grateful he was. It distressed David to think that, while he lived in a beautiful Palace of cedar wood, the ark of God rested in a tent, which he had pitched for it on Mount Zion. David longed to build a great and beautiful temple, in which to place the ark of God, "the living God" whom David worshipped.

He told Nathan the prophet of his wish. Nathan thought it was a good idea and told David to go ahead. "Do all that is in thine heart," Nathan said, "for Yahweh is with thee" (v3). But Nathan was wrong. That night God spoke to Nathan and told him that David was not to build Him a temple. David had been a warrior and had slain many men in his battles. It was not fitting that such a man of war should build a house of worship for God. Instead, God promised to give David a son, who would be a man of peace, and this son would build a house for God (1 Chron. 22:7-9).

But God was not displeased with David. In his desire to build God a temple, David had shown yet again that he was, "a man after God's own heart". For this, God loved him (in fact, the name 'David' means 'beloved') and honoured him by giving him the thrilling promise found in 2 Samuel 7.

A SON OF DAVID WHO IS SON OF GOD: 2 Samuel 7:12-17

Since God intends to set up a kingdom, it will, of course, need a king. Since it is to be the kingdom of God, its king must be pure and righteous. So, in this promise to David, God spoke of just such a man who would rule over His kingdom.

He promised that this king would be a direct descendant of David. Many hundreds of years would pass before the promised king would be born and David by that time would be dead (v12). *The most remarkable thing about this promise is that this descendant of David would also be the Son of God. He would never commit iniquity (that is, sin), but would suffer and die to save others who do sin (v14). God promised to make this wonderful king immortal, so that he would rule over the kingdom of God for ever (vv 13,16). It would be the work of this king to build a temple for God as well (v13).

All these things will be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. The angel Gabriel said this to Mary, the mother of Jesus, before he was bon. Jesus is the son of David who was promised and he is also the son of God (Luke 1:32,35). He is the great king of Israel who is to rule over the kingdom of God for ever (Luke 1:33).

Jesus is not yet ruling as king of Israel and he is not yet sitting on the throne of David (Matt 25:31). Now that he has been raised from the dead he is to stay in heaven until the time appointed for his return to the earth (Acts 3:20-21). Only then will he sit on David's throne and rule over the kingdom of God upon earth. God said, "Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool" (Psa 110:1). In the same way, David waited for a long time in the Philistines' land, until Saul was dead, before he became king.

The Lord Jesus Christ has been in heaven a long time, but the time for him to return is close at hand (Psa 102:13-18). As we read in Lesson 24 (Additional Notes), the return of the Jews to the land of Israel is a sure sign to us that he is coming soon. (God drove His people out of that land over 1900 years ago because they put His son to death. It is only during the lifetime of your parents and grandparents that the Jews have begun to return to that land and Israel is now a nation again).

When Jesus returns to become king of Israel and build God's temple, David, his forefather, will be raised from the dead. This is part of the meaning of the promise, for, while 2 Sam 7:12 promises that the kingdom of God will be set up after David's death, verse 17 says the promised kingdom will be established for ever 'before' David. The term 'before' means before David's very eyes. For this to happen he must be raised from the grave (Psa 71:20).

Let us go over the wonderful points God made in this promise to David.

• After David's death one of his sons (descendants) would be king on his throne.

• He would build a house for God's Name, that is, a temple.

• This special son of David would be the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

• He would not sin, but would suffer and die to save others.

• David would be raised from the dead to see Christ established as king forever on his throne in Jerusalem.

LESSON FOR US

God has made wonderful promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and also to David. These promises are called "the hope of Israel" (Acts 28:20) and"the promise made of God unto our fathers" (Acts 26:6). It is a Jewish hope, for these men were all Jews; but even though we may be Gentiles, God has made it possible for us to share in this hope, by baptism into Christ. Anyone who believes in these promises (called in Gal. 3:8 "the gospel" ), and is baptised, can share in the happiness of immortality in the kingdom of God (Gal 3:26-29).

What marvellous kindness God has shown to us, in giving us such great and precious promises. He offers us the same hope that He offered David - hope of eternal life in His wonderful kingdom (2Pet 1:2-4; John 3:16).

We must try to please God in our thoughts and words and actions, just as David did, that God may think of us as He thought of David, as "a man after mine own heart" (Acts 13:22).

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Some parts of the promise applied to Solomon, David's son, but it can only be properly fulfilled by Christ. Although Solomon, who reigned after David, did build God a temple, he was not trie promised son of God. He became king while David was still alive (1 Chron. 29:20-24), and his kingdom did not last forever (1 Kings 11:11). He did commit iniquity so that God's mercy departed away from him (1 Kings 11:9). In each of these things, Solomon did not fulfil the promise, proving that its complete fulfilment can only be brought about by the Lord Jesus Christ.

QUESTIONS

Short Answers

1. God told Moses His great purpose with the world. What did He say?

2. What did David wish to do for God?

3. Why did David want to build a temple?

4. Why did God refuse to let David build Him a temple?

5. Was God pleased that David wanted to build a temple?

6. Who is the one spoken of in God's promises to David who is both son of David and son of God?

7. When will Jesus begin to rule on the throne of David?

8. What will happen to David when Christ returns?

9. If we believe in the promises God made to David, what else must we do to share his hope?

Detailed Answers

1. Tell five special things which God promised David about his great descendant.

2.  

   1. David is dead and buried. How can the promises be "established forever before him" (v16)?

   2. Where is Christ now?

   3. When will he sit on the throne of David?

3.  

   1. What is "the hope of Israel"?

   2. How can we share in "the hope of Israel"?

Additional Answers

4. The promises God made to David in 2 Sam 7 did not really apply to Solomon. Give three reasons why Solomon was not the promised son.