The Davidic Covenant

STATEMENT OF USE: This blog contains condensed material from manuscripts owned and copyrighted by Ariel Ministries USA and is used with permission. The material referenced within is from Ariel’s Come and See series, and is available, along with fifty other texts, free of charge to anyone who desires to use them. If you haven’t already, please check them out here: https://www.ariel.org/resources/come-and-see/studies?navid=2390956

It is my fervent hope that you will not stop with my blog but that you will take full advantage of the wealth of wisdom offered through the faithfulness of Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, who is a teacher to the best of Biblical teachers! Please go to ariel.org for the complete and full teaching on the 8 Covenants of God. 

THE DAVIDIC COVENANT

David, oh David … what an incredible picture he paints of God’s long suffering, mercy, and loving kindness.  Acts 13:22 says of David, “And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” It is through David, shepherd boy turned King, man of egregious sin, that God chooses to bring forth Messiah.  Both Joseph and Mary were from the Davidic line. The angel tells Mary in Luke 1:32-33, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”

This promise is usually ignored, passed over or made symbolic by the institutionalized church today, but oh what glorious promise is its foundation!  When we pray “Your Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven”, we are praying for fulfillment of this covenant! The prophetic Word of God contains within it many prophecies that point to a literal Kingdom of God established on this earth. There will be a literal 1000-year reign of Christ, who will rule with a firm hand from His throne in Jerusalem!

Zechariah 14.9 says of this time, And the Lord will be King over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one. Isaiah 9:7 tells us, there will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

SCRIPTURE:

In the first passage, the emphasis is on Solomon in II Samuel 7: 11b- 16: “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. 12 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. 13 He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 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, 15 but My loving-kindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’”

The second  account,  where  the  emphasis  is  on  the  Messiah,  is found in I Chronicles 17:1Ob-14: And it came about, when David dwelt in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I am dwelling in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under curtains.” 2 Then Nathan said to David, “Do all that is in your heart, for God is with you.”

3 It came about the same night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, 4 “Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; 5 for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another. 6 In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”’ 7 Now, therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel. 8 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 name like the name of the great ones who are in the earth. 9 I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and not be moved again; and the wicked will not waste them anymore as formerly, 10 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.

Moreover, I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you. 11 When your days are fulfilled that you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up one of your descendants after you, who will be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom. 12 He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. 13 I will be his father and he shall be My son; and I will not take My loving-kindness away from him, as I took it from him who was before you. 14 But I will settle him in My house and in My kingdom forever, and his throne shall be established forever.”’”

THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE COVENANT

This covenant was made between God and David. David stands as the head of the Davidic House and Dynasty, the only rightful claimant to the Davidic Throne in Jerusalem.

THE PROVISIONS OF THE COVENANT

Careful study of both biblical accounts brings out the seven provisions of the Davidic Covenant. David is promised an eternal dynasty (II Sam. 7:11b, 16; I Chr. 17:10b). 

1. Nothing could ever destroy the House of David; it will always be in existence. Although it is unknown who they are, to this day somewhere in the Jewish world members of the House of David still exist.
2. One of David's own sons, specifically Solomon, was to be established on the throne after David (II Sam. 7:12). Absalom and Adonijah, two of David's other sons, tried to usurp the throne; but Solomon, and Solomon alone, was to be established on David's throne.
3. Solomon would build the Temple (II Sam. 7:13a). Although David had greatly desired to build God's Temple, his hands had shed much blood and he was guilty of murder at one point. Thus, he was forbidden to build the Temple, and the job would rest with his son, Solomon.
4. The throne of David's kingdom was to be established for ever (II Sam. 7:13b, 16). It was not Solomon himself who was promised to be established forever, but rather, the throne upon which he would sit.
5. Solomon would be disciplined for disobedience, but God would not remove His loving-kindness (II Sam. 7:14-15). Earlier God did remove His loving-kindness from King Saul because of disobedience. But the promise is made that although Solomon may disobey and require God's discipline, God's loving-kindness will never depart from him. The word loving-kindness emphasized covenant loyalty. Solomon fell into idolatry, the worst sin possible in Scripture. The sin of Saul was not as great as the sin of Solomon. Yet the kingdom was taken away from the House of Saul, but not the House of David. This shows the nature of an unconditional covenant. Solomon was under such a covenant, but Saul was not.
6. The Messiah will come from the Seed of David (I Chr. 17: 11). The emphasis in the II Samuel passage is on Solomon, but in the I Chronicles passage, it is on the Messiah. In the I Chronicles passage, God is not speaking of one of David's own sons to be established upon the throne forever, but the Seed of one of his sons coming many years later.
7. The Messiah and His throne, house, and kingdom will be established forever (I Chr. 17: 12-15). In this passage, it is the Person Himself that is established upon David's throne forever, not merely the throne. Clearly, the emphasis in the I Chronicles passage is not on Solomon, but on Messiah. That is why this passage does not mention the possibility of sin as the II Samuel passage does, for in the case of the Messiah no sin would be possible. The Messiah, as well as His throne, His house, and His kingdom are to be established forever.

To summarize the Davidic Covenant, God promised David four eternal things: an eternal House or dynasty, an eternal Throne, an eternal Kingdom, and an eternal Descendant. The eternality of the House, Throne, and Kingdom is guaranteed because the Seed of David culminates in One who is Himself eternal: Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, our God Man.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE COVENANT

The unique importance of the Davidic Covenant is that it amplifies the Seed aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. According to the Abrahamic Covenant, the Messiah was to be of the Seed of Abraham. This merely stated that He was to be a Jew and could be of any of the Twelve Tribes. Later, in the time of Jacob, the Seed aspect was limited to a member of the Tribe of Judah only (Gen. 49:10). Now the Messianic Seed aspect is further narrowed to one family within the Tribe of Judah, the family of David.

Thus, there has been a gradual narrowing or pin pointing of the Seed. According to the Edenic Covenant, the Messiah must be of the Seed of the woman, but this meant He could come from any part of humanity. According to the Abrahamic Covenant, He had to come out of Jewish humanity, which meant He could come out of any tribe of Israel. With the confirmation of this covenant, through Jacob's twelve sons, we see He had to come out of the Tribe of Judah, but this permits Him to come from any family of Judah. On our map to Messiah, the Davidic Covenant affirms that the Messiah had to come from the seed of David. It will be narrowed one step further in Jeremiah 22:24-30, which shows the Messiah had to come from the House of David, but apart from Jeconiah.

THE CONFIRMATION OF THE COVENANT

In a number of other passages, the Davidic Covenant received further confirmation: II Samuel 23:1-5; Psalm 89:1-52; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1; Jeremiah 23:5-6; 30:8-9; 33:14-17, 19-26; Ezekiel 37:24-25; Hosea 3:4- 5; Amos 9:11; Luke 1:30-35, 68-70; and Acts 15:14-18.

THE STATUS OF THE COVENANT

The Davidic Covenant is also an unconditional covenant and is still very much in effect as an eternal covenant.

From my heart ...

I am in awe of the way that throughout the Bible God used the least likely of very ordinary people to do extraordinary things for Him. Of all of them, I relate most to David. When David fell, David fell.  But David always got back up and ran to God. David truly and passionately loved our Lord. Because he loved Him so much, he was quick to repent from the behaviors that caused him to fail.  He hungered and thirsted to please the Lord.  And it was David’s heart that God saw.

I recently read a short list from Ron Edmundson, in Thoughts on Leadership, Church and Culture, in it he cites the following scriptures that reveal David’s heart and his character. In David’s own words …

Note: these scriptures are from the Complete Jewish Bible. Somehow that seems right to me.)

• Humility – Ordinary folks are merely a breath and important people a sham; if you lay them on a balance-scale, they go up—both together are lighter than nothing. Psalm 62:9
• Reverence – "Adonai is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, my God, my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold. Psalm 18:3
• Respectfulness – Show me favor, Adonai, for I am in trouble. My eyes grow dim with anger, my soul and body as well. Psalm 31:9
• Trust – Adonai is my light and salvation; whom do I need to fear? Adonai is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
• Love – I love you, Adonai, my strength! Psalm 18:2
• Devotion – You have filled my heart with more joy than all their grain and new wine. Psalm 4:7
• Recognition – I give thanks to Adonai with all my heart. I will tell about all your wonderful deeds. Psalm 9:1
• Faithfulness – Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will live in the house of Adonai for years and years to come. Psalm 23:6
• Obedience – Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah; I will observe it with all my heart. Psalm 119:34
• Repentance – For the sake of your name, Adonai, forgive my wickedness, great though it is. Psalm 25:11

David’s example is a great road map for how we are to live our life. I wonder…which of these areas, dear Lord, need my greatest attention for improvement?