“The Davidic Covenant, pt. 1” • 1.28.08 • Autonomy, Authority, And The Man Of God, Session #19
Intro
- Chapter 7 begins with a statement recognizing the fact that God had given David rest from his enemies. As a result, David is both happy and grateful to the Lord.
- In a moment of thanksgiving, David proposes an abitious building project, for he desires to build a house for the Lord. Nathan hears this and encourages David right away.
- In a moment of thanksgiving, David proposes an abitious building project, for he desires to build a house for the Lord. Nathan hears this and encourages David right away.
• II Samuel 7:3 : “Then Nathan said to the king, ‘Go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you.’”
- Unfortunately, Nathan made the mistake that many men have made. He presumes to speak for God and finds out that he spoke out of turn.
- He tells Nathan to return a message to him that adds favor to favor. The contents of this message form what is called the “Davidic Covenant.”
- The message itself is beautiful and speaks wonderfully of the grace of the Lord to David.
- He tells Nathan to return a message to him that adds favor to favor. The contents of this message form what is called the “Davidic Covenant.”
- The message itself is beautiful and speaks wonderfully of the grace of the Lord to David.
• II Samuel 7:8-11 : “Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house.”
- In an end befitting the Lord, His promise to David will extend long after David’s life is over. In fact, David’s line would end with the King of Kings, Jesus, the greatest and ultimate descendant of David’s.
• II Samuel 7:16 : “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.”
- Imagine with me what David must have felt at this moment. Here, he wants to bless the Lord. He has an idea and a desire, with the capability to pull it off.
- God stops him, and instead of allowing David to give, chooses to give David even more. It’s a beautiful passage. What comes next is David’s response, which we will look at next week.
- Today, I want us to concentrate ourselves on the theme of God’s grace toward David, which is the same grace that He has extended toward those of us who have believed upon His son, the seed of David.
- By way of very quick review, the concept of grace is defined this way: God’s unmerited favor to the infinitely ill-deserving. Grace is what Christian life is built upon.
- Grace is getting something wonderful, when you deserve something terrible! It’s God’s grace when we begin our journey of faith and it’s grace that will lead us into our heavenly home with Christ.
- I want us to consider this topic for several reasons. First, this is a very special chapter in God’s word, dealing with an everlasting covenant. There are only a few of these in the Bible.
- Second, each of us needs to stop and feed on grace every now and then. We need the reminder, that we are where we are, doing what we are doing, because of the grace of God.
- Finally, in learning about grace, we are able to communicate it to others in our lives who are in desperate need of it. That then, is our aim this morning.
- Notice three phrases of God’s great grace that are applicable to each of our lives.
- God stops him, and instead of allowing David to give, chooses to give David even more. It’s a beautiful passage. What comes next is David’s response, which we will look at next week.
- Today, I want us to concentrate ourselves on the theme of God’s grace toward David, which is the same grace that He has extended toward those of us who have believed upon His son, the seed of David.
- By way of very quick review, the concept of grace is defined this way: God’s unmerited favor to the infinitely ill-deserving. Grace is what Christian life is built upon.
- Grace is getting something wonderful, when you deserve something terrible! It’s God’s grace when we begin our journey of faith and it’s grace that will lead us into our heavenly home with Christ.
- I want us to consider this topic for several reasons. First, this is a very special chapter in God’s word, dealing with an everlasting covenant. There are only a few of these in the Bible.
- Second, each of us needs to stop and feed on grace every now and then. We need the reminder, that we are where we are, doing what we are doing, because of the grace of God.
- Finally, in learning about grace, we are able to communicate it to others in our lives who are in desperate need of it. That then, is our aim this morning.
- Notice three phrases of God’s great grace that are applicable to each of our lives.
I. “I Took You From The Sheepfold To Be Ruler…” (v.8)
II. “I Have Been With You Wherever You Have Gone…” (v.9)
III. “I Will Make You A House…” (v.11)
TextII. “I Have Been With You Wherever You Have Gone…” (v.9)
III. “I Will Make You A House…” (v.11)
I. “I Took You From The Sheepfold To Be Ruler…” (v.8)
• II Samuel 7:8 : “Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people, over Israel.” : Grace always begins in the most menial or most unorthodox place.
- For David, he was taken from the sheepfold. It was not a glamorous job, but it was the task that David was assigned to.- Tending sheep is one boring occupation on most occassions, leading helpless animals to places where they can feed and drink. Then there are the long nights sleeping by the sheep pen out under the stars.
- There will be times when Shepherding offers great excitement, such as when an animal comes looking for food. That’s when the good shepherd lays his life down for the sheep.
- Most of the time, being a shepherd is just a lonely job, out on the plains, out of sight and mind from even the closest family members. It is here where God finds David.
- This is not a sinful condition, where God has rescued a person. That is also a true function of God’s grace. Lot is a great example, God’s grace rescuing him from certain death. He has done that for us as well.
• Colossians 1:9-13 : “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,”
- God’s grace has rescued us from the power of darkness at salvation. What we see in David’s life here, is not a work of salvation, but a work of sanctification.
- It’s a place of promotion, spiritually. God has seen David, among the sheep, and simply by His grace, took him from the sheepfold. Asaph the Psalmist speaks toward this in Psalm 75.
- It’s a place of promotion, spiritually. God has seen David, among the sheep, and simply by His grace, took him from the sheepfold. Asaph the Psalmist speaks toward this in Psalm 75.
• Psalm 75:4-7 : “I said to the boastful, 'Do not deal boastfully,' And to the wicked, 'Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high; Do not speak with a stiff neck.' For exaltation (promotion) comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down one, And exalts another.”
- Notice the juxtaposition of phrases here: David went from following the sheep to being the ruler of God’s people. God found a man and by His grace, appointed him to spiritual responsibility.
- Why do we find this encouraging? You might think you have to make a plan work in your life. You might think that God does not see you or care. But it’s His grace to choose the where and the when of spiritual service.
- By His grace, He has rescued you from the power of darkness. It’s also His grace to raise you to spiritual responsibility. For those in that place, recognize it’s God working in and through you.
- Why do we find this encouraging? You might think you have to make a plan work in your life. You might think that God does not see you or care. But it’s His grace to choose the where and the when of spiritual service.
- By His grace, He has rescued you from the power of darkness. It’s also His grace to raise you to spiritual responsibility. For those in that place, recognize it’s God working in and through you.
• Philippians 2:12,13 : “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
II. “I Have Been With You Wherever You Have Gone…” (v.9)
• II Samuel 7:9 : “And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth.” : What good is God’s grace if there is no intention to sustain?
- God’s word through Nathan to David was that He had been with him wherever he had gone.- There were some dark places, in the backs of caves and out in the wilderness.
- There were places where certain danger crept around the corner. In each place, the Lord was with him.
- God had been with him and fought his battles for him. David stands, having outlasted Saul and his forces, as well as the Philistines.
- God’s hand sustained him throughout all of it, even when the outlook was grim.
- Finally, God tells David that He made his name great. God lifted him out of the hiding pit, from a place of despair, to a place of authority.
- God’s promise to us is that He who He saves, He will sustain.
- Jude the Apostle spoke to the young first century church about the dangers that were confronting their society. There were false prophets and those who sought to stumble them.
• Jude 24,25 : “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.”
- Jesus made this comment regarding the power of His sustaining grace in John 10.
• John 10:27-29 : “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.”
- Notice that last phrase: No one is able to snatch them out of my Father’s hand. What a beautiful promise that we can each claim and live in. We are sustained, just like David, in the palm of the Father’s hand.
- Perhaps you are feeling the pressure of life crumbling around you. You might be wondering how and when and where God might fail you. Let me tell you that if you are His, He never will.
- His grace will always hold you up!
- Perhaps you are feeling the pressure of life crumbling around you. You might be wondering how and when and where God might fail you. Let me tell you that if you are His, He never will.
- His grace will always hold you up!
III. “I Will Make You A House…” (v.11b,16)
• II Samuel 7:11b,16 : “Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. …And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
- This is a wonderful concept. David begins this conversation with a good desire to bless the Lord with a house instead of a tent.
- He just wants to bless the heart of God. In return for even the thought, God, in His grace, responds with even more grace.
- “David, you want to give me a house. I tell you that I will make you a house.”
- This word, here translated “house” is better understood in terms of posterity. Note the context of the next few verses.
- Verse 12 speaks directly to this and in verse 16 we see God’s eternal promise to David.
- He just wants to bless the heart of God. In return for even the thought, God, in His grace, responds with even more grace.
- “David, you want to give me a house. I tell you that I will make you a house.”
- This word, here translated “house” is better understood in terms of posterity. Note the context of the next few verses.
- Verse 12 speaks directly to this and in verse 16 we see God’s eternal promise to David.
• II Samuel 7:16 : “And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever.’”
- As David looks forward and believes, we look back and see what God has done.
- Matthew begins his very Jewish gospel with these words:
- Matthew begins his very Jewish gospel with these words:
• Matthew 1:1 : “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:”
- In God’s wonderful grace, He has pulled David from the Sheepfold and promoted Him to the highest place of authority in the land. His grace has sustained him and will now establish him.
- God’s grace promotes, sustains and it’s grace that assures us a place in eternity.
- Notice in all of these points that we have before us this morning, that His grace has come solely from His initiative. David has certainly not earned it, especially over these prior years, living as a liar and mercenary in the land of the Philistines.
- After this promise, David will not be infallible or perfect and yet, in God’s grace, He promises David and will bring them to pass simply because He wants to.
- It’s been rightly said that grace can never be earned. More poignantly, grace can never be motivated from outside of God’s heart and convictions.
- After this point, David will be an adulterer, an accessory to murder, and a negligent Father.
- Was God unaware of these pending failures? Of course He did! His grace is just bigger than our sin! This is Paul’s point in the book of Romans in discussing the doctrine of justification.
- God’s grace promotes, sustains and it’s grace that assures us a place in eternity.
- Notice in all of these points that we have before us this morning, that His grace has come solely from His initiative. David has certainly not earned it, especially over these prior years, living as a liar and mercenary in the land of the Philistines.
- After this promise, David will not be infallible or perfect and yet, in God’s grace, He promises David and will bring them to pass simply because He wants to.
- It’s been rightly said that grace can never be earned. More poignantly, grace can never be motivated from outside of God’s heart and convictions.
- After this point, David will be an adulterer, an accessory to murder, and a negligent Father.
- Was God unaware of these pending failures? Of course He did! His grace is just bigger than our sin! This is Paul’s point in the book of Romans in discussing the doctrine of justification.
• Romans 5:20,21 : “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
- Life will pass for David over the next 33 years and if God’s promises were based on His performance, he, like you and I, would be lost forever.
- “But that’s not fair! David does not deserve grace!?” Precisely!
- “But then, doesn’t that give me the freedom to sin as much as I want?” No! Grace is the freedom from sin, not the freedom to sin!
- “But that’s not fair! David does not deserve grace!?” Precisely!
- “But then, doesn’t that give me the freedom to sin as much as I want?” No! Grace is the freedom from sin, not the freedom to sin!
• Romans 6:1,2 : “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
- Paul sums up the heart of grace in • Romans 6:12-14 : “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
Conclusion - It is wonderful to know God’s grace. God’s grace has pulled you out of the pig’s pen and lifted you to a place of purpose.
- His grace will keep you, no matter how you feel right now.
- And it’s His grace that will establish you and your family to come on this Earth. Let’s be wise to thank the Lord for this wonderful grace.
- His grace will keep you, no matter how you feel right now.
- And it’s His grace that will establish you and your family to come on this Earth. Let’s be wise to thank the Lord for this wonderful grace.
1 comment:
1 The grace of the Lord took David from the sheepfold to the highest place of authority. God’s grace is the factor that determines the promotion of a man. Looking back over your professional life, how has God’s grace been at work in your employment, with your employer or employees?
2 The grace of the Lord sustained David against various enemies. Discuss with each other the function of God’s sustaining grace in your life? Share with one another dangers, dicey situations and dark corners that the Lord has pulled you out of and kept you through?
3 The grace of the Lord would establish David’s house forever. God’s promise preceded David’s otherwise bad behavior. In our world today, this seems somewhat unfair, and our humanity often gets in the way of taking this doctrine to heart. Does the concept of the grace of God bother your sense of fairness? How do you reconcile that question in your heart?
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