8. Davidic Covenant
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LESSON EIGHT

DAVIDIC COVENANT 

by Steve and Terri White

Genesis 49; I Samuel 8 - I Kings 9:1-9; I Chronicles 10 - II Chronicles 7 

Before Jacob died he summoned his twelve sons so that he could bless each one (Gen. 49). All were prophetically blessed, but only one of the sons received the blessing of the Abrahamic Covenant.

"Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s children shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; and as a lion, who shall rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh comes; and to Him shall be the obedience of the people." (Gen. 49:8-10)

The promised Redeemer would come through the tribe of Judah. In Judah’s covenant blessing there are several key words that point to the coming Redeemer (see also Rev. 5 & Heb. 1):

  • Praise: Judah means praise, implying that the Redeemer will be praised.

  • Lion: The Redeemer will be a conqueror.

  • Scepter: Judah is the royal tribe from which Israel’s kings would come; they will rule until the promised Ruler (Redeemer) comes to rule forever.

  • Staff: The Redeemer will be a lawgiver, "One" who brings justice.

  • Between his feet: This is a Hebrewism meaning on-going generations - royalty will always be found in Judah.

  • Shiloh (Worthy One): This is an untranslated Hebrew word meaning "To Whom It Belongs" or the promised Redeemer, Judah’s final king, the "One" who is worthy to be king arrives.

  • People: This means all nations - all nations will come and worship the "Worthy One."

The time for kings, however, would not come for about 700 years. After the exodus from Egypt, God formed the Hebrews into the nation of Israel and reigned from the Ark of the Covenant in the Holiest of Holies. Psalm 78 gives a valuable commentary on Israel, along with a historical perspective on the nation . With inspired hindsight, it overviews several generations of Israel’s struggles, so that the coming generations who would teach their children "might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; and might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation" (Ps. 78:7, 8).  The generation which God brought out of Egypt sinned against Him by their unbelief. Psalm 78:40, 41 gives this lament: "How often did they provoke Him in the wilderness, and grieve Him in the desert! Yes, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel."

When they murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness (Ex. 16), God provided manna for them to eat. God instructed Moses to strike a certain rock in Horeb with his rod, and it gushed water so that the people (who were griping at Moses again) would have water to drink (Ex. 17:1-7). Another instance of sin occurred while Moses was up on Mount Sinai, receiving instructions from God. The people corrupted themselves by worshiping a golden calf that Aaron made from their earrings. For this idolatry, God sent a plague among Israel (Ex. 32). Finally, spies were sent into Canaan to bring back a report about the land. Out of twelve spies, only Joshua and Caleb expressed their belief that Israel could possess the land which God had promised to them. For this unbelief, God made Israel return to the wilderness for forty years, until all that unbelieving generation died. Only Joshua and Caleb were spared from death (Num. 13 & 14).

The next generation which entered into the promised land under Joshua’s leadership, was supposed to utterly destroy the Canaanites. They were being judged by God because of their idolatry, and the murder (child sacrifice) and sexual sin (prostitution and orgies) that accompanied their pagan worship. The Israelites failed to do so. There were still strongholds of Canaanites living among Israel’s different tribes at the time of Joshua’s death. Because Israel had not obeyed God’s direction to throw down the heathen altars, and had not driven out all the Canaanites, God decided to leave this Canaanite remnant "as a thorn in your sides" and their gods for "a snare to you" (Deut. 7:1-26; Judges 1:1-36, 2:1-3).

Psalm 78:58-64 chronicles the way generation after generation slid back into idolatry and fell into the hands of their enemies; then God would raise up deliverers when Israel called upon Him (Jud. 2:11-23). This cycle of corruption, oppression by enemies, and restoration is modeled in all the stories of the judges, among whom Deborah and Barak (Jud. 4:4-5:31), Gideon (Jud. 6:11-8:35), and Samson (Jud. 13-16) are best known.

Samuel, the son of Elkanah, stands apart from the other judges, not only because of the versatility of his ministry, but also because of his integrity before the LORD. He grew up a Nazarite, serving in the temple under Eli, the High Priest. When the word of the LORD came to Samuel, he began to be established as a prophet. "So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground" (I Sam. 3:19). Beginning with Israel’s battle with the Philistines at Mizpeh, he was also referred to as a judge of Israel (I Sam. 7:6, 15-17). When the people rejected Samuel’s sons as judges and cried out to be like the nations around them, they demanded a king. They were rejecting God’s rule (I Sam. 8). In his integrity, Samuel inquired of God, gave the people a warning about the ways of kings, and reproved the people for their rejection of God. Then, as instructed by God, Samuel gave the people what they wanted instead of what God wanted: Saul from the tribe of Benjamin -- the wrong man, the wrong tribe, the wrong timing. It was not yet God’s time for Israel to be ruled by kings.

Over the years King Saul became proud and rebelled against God. As a result, "the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him" (I Sam. 16:14).  After nearly twenty years of Saul’s rule, God rejected him and sent the aged prophet Samuel to anoint the first king from the tribe of Judah (I Sam. 15 & 16). A teenage shepherd, the youngest son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, was anointed, but it was 20 years before he actually ruled as the first legitimate king of Israel. His name was David. Shortly after his anointing, David was summoned to the palace to comfort the distressed king with his skillful playing on the harp. Then his slaying of Goliath won him such royal favor that Saul made David commander of his troops. David maintained victories over the Philistines and ". . . behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed" (I Sam. 18:30). Nevertheless, his popularity with people threw Saul into a rage of anger and jealousy, and eventually David fled for his life.

For the next 15 years, David lived the life of a fugitive, pursued by King Saul. Men who were distressed, in debt, and bitter - rejects of society - followed and supported David during those years. Forging bonds with each other, their loyalty to David was unsurpassed. They became David’s "mighty men."

After Saul’s death, David became king over Judah while Saul’s son Ishbosheth ruled over the remaining tribes. Seven years of war between the house of David and the house of Saul ended with David as king over all of Israel.

The most significant decision David made in his first 15 years as king over Israel was to bring back the Ark of the Covenant (I Chron. 15). During the time of the judges when Eli was High Priest, Eli’s sons brought the Ark out to battle, and the Philistines captured it. God was not a good prisoner of war, causing the Philistines much grief, so they returned the Ark to the border of Israel. The Ark stayed in a farm house for 20 years. While Saul was king, he never ventured to retrieve it. Thus, the return of the Ark shows that David understood who the true king of Israel was - God - and that he was an 'underking' or 'vice-regent' of the true king.

GOD’S COVENANT WITH DAVID - II Sam. 7:11-16; Ps. 89 & 132

Shortly after David brought the Ark back, he expressed a desire to build a house (temple) for the LORD. God, however, wanted to build a house (dynasty) for David that would last forever:

". . . Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house: When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, 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 his Father, and he shall My son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But My Mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." (II Sam. 7:11-16)

The key words in the covenant - seed, house, son, kingdom, throne, forever - applied to David’s natural descendants as well as to the promised Redeemer. There would always be a king from the lineage of David. The first king from David’s sons, Solomon, would build God a house. (This covenant with David was confirmed with Solomon in II Chronicles 7:18 after he had finished building the temple.) The throne of Israel - seen as the throne of God (II Chron. 9:8) - was a shadow of the true throne in the heavens.

But what God gave David and his descendants in the natural, He fulfilled in the Spirit through Jesus in the New Covenant:

"And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 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. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end." (Luke 1:31-33)

  • Seed: Jesus is The particular seed - Ps. 89:4, 29, 36

  • Son: Jesus is The Son of the Father (God) and is also The son of David in the natural - Ps. 2:7; Heb. 1:5; John 5:17,18; Mat. 1:1; Rev. 22:16; Mat. 22:41-45

  • House: Jesus has a house, the church (the 'final'   house of David) - I Peter 2:4,5; I Tim. 3:15; Eph. 2:21,22; I Cor.3:16

  • Kingdom Forever: Jesus’ kingdom is the 'real' everlasting kingdom of David - Heb. 1:8; Rev. 19:11-16; John 18:36,37

  • Throne: Jesus received the throne of David - Acts 2:22-36; Ps.110:1-4; Heb.10:12,13 Rev. 3:21; Rev. 4

After the Covenant of Creation, every covenant - except the Sinai Covenant - singled out the people from which the Redeemer would come:   

  • Adamic Covenant - Whole human race
  • Noachic Covenant - Shem (specific race)
  • Abrahamic Covenant - Abraham (specific nation)

               Isaac

               Jacob

               Judah (specific tribe)

  •   Davidic Covenant - David (specific family)

As David meditated on the covenant, God showed him that if he was anointed to be king over Israel and if he was a son of God as king, then when SHILOH comes, He will be THE Son of God and THE Anointed One. With this revelation, David coined the expression Messiah, The Anointed One. In Greek it is translated Christ. The expression was never used before the Davidic Covenant. The Psalms are full of David’s revelation of the coming Messiah. (See Psalms 2, 45, 72, 78, 89, 110, 132.) After David’s death, God used the prophets to splash this revelation over the pages of Israel’s history. The coming of the Messiah was trumpeted from Isaiah to Malachi, and again as John the Baptist blew the final call.

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