|
| |||||
|
|
God's Covenant with David We shall now examine the terms of God's covenant with David
as given in 2 Sam. 7:12-14, 16. "And when thy days be
fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up
thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and
I will establish His kingdom forever. I will be his father and
he shall be my Son…And, thine house and thy kingdom shall be
established for ever before thee; thy throne shall be
established for ever." This unconditional promise was
fulfilled in Christ. Heb. 1:5-8.
David's Natural Seed Rejected. It is well to remember that
God did not make any unconditional promises concerning the
earthly throne of David or to his fleshly descendants.
Concerning them we read, in 1 Kings 2:3, 4, in David's charge to
Solomon, "Keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk in
His ways, to keep His statutes and His commandments…That the
Lord may continue His word which He spake concerning me, saying,
if thy children take heed…there shall not fail thee a man on
the throne of Israel." See also 1 Chron. 28:9 and 2 Chron.
6:14, 15. This conditional covenant concerning David's earthly
throne required obedience to God's commandments on the part of
each succeeding sovereign. Attention is now directed to 1 Kings
11:11. "Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as
this is done of thee, and hast not kept my covenant and my
statutes, which I commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom
from thee and give it to thy servant." So far as God's
obligation to any of David's fleshly descendants was concerned,
they were ended as soon as the covenant was broken. This is
apparent as we follow the Scriptures in 2 Kings 17:18-20,
"Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and removed
them out of His sight; there was none left but the tribe of
Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the Lord
their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel, which they
made. And the Lord rejected all the seed of Israel, and
afflicted them…and cast them out of His sight."
Continuing now with Ezek. 21:25-27, "And thou profane and
wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall
have an end, Thus saith the Lord God; Remove the diadem, and
take off the crown…I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it;
and it shall be no more until he come whose right it is; and I
will give it him." The sword of judgment was now unsheathed
against the last of David's kingly line. God's forbearance at
last came to an end. His reluctance to pronounce their doom is
seen in these words: "And the Lord God of their fathers
sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes and sending;
because he had compassion on his people and on his dwelling
place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his
words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord
arose against his people, till there was no remedy." 2
Chron. 36:15:16. The same passage relates the defeat of king
Jehoiakim and later of king Dedediah, of the destruction of the
magnificent temple and the city of Jerusalem with its majestic
walls, and the carrying away into Babylon of all but the poorest
of the inhabitants.
The fleshly descendants of David refused to obey God and they
reaped the curses of the broken covenant. They were not
permitted to wield the scepter. They ended in ignominy and shame
and lost all their rights to an earthly throne.
Although David's family tree was shorn of its kingly glory
and power, the root of his lineage remained. Isaiah recognized
this when he prophesied, "And there shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his
roots." Isa. 11:1. It is with a sense of relief that we
turn from the dismal failure of these erring kings to the sure
foundation of Christ who rightfully succeeded to David's throne
in the sense that He is King over all God's people.
The Covenant with David Fulfilled in Christ. The throne of
Christ differed greatly from that of David. The purpose and
scope of the reign of Christ are vividly set forth in Luke 1:32,
33. "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the
Highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob
forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." We
observe here that the kingdom over which Christ reigns is
timeless in duration and limitless in scope. It is worldwide,
universal. It has no frontiers; it overleaps national boundaries
and racial barriers. The angels who announced the Saviour's
birth said the "joy was for all the people: for unto you is
born this day a Saviour." Luke 2:10, 11. A.S.V. The point
to notice is that Jesus Christ came into the world as the
Saviour and He was to reign over a saved people. The prophecy of
Isaiah quoted by Paul in Rom. 15:12 lends additional support to
this statement. "There shall be a root of Jesse, and he
that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles." This passage
declares that Jesus rose from the grave to reign. The
resurrection is vitally connected with the reign of Christ also
in Acts 2:29, 30, 32, in these words, "…he would raise up
Christ to sit on his throne; He, seeing this before, spake of
the resurrection of Christ… This Jesus hath God raised
up."
Turning to Psalm 45:6 we read, "Thy throne, O God is for
ever and ever: the scepter of they kingdom is a right
scepter." This Scripture together with 2 Sam. 7:14 is
quoted in Heb. 1:5-8. Therein we learn that Christ is the
"Son" referred to in the covenant made with David. It
also shows us that it was "His" throne: that is,
Christ's that was to be established forever. Heb. 1:8 says,
"But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne O God is forever and
ever:" The throne to which Jesus ascended after His
resurrection is far greater than any earthly throne. From it, He
exerts His sovereignty over all the universe, for He said,
"All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth."
Matt. 28:18.
Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews who are of the faith of
Abraham. He does not reign over fleshly descendants. He said,
"My kingdom is not of this world." Instead of setting
up a grand earthly monarchy opposed to Rome or any succeeding
earthly dominion, the Bible shows us that His Kingdom is the
opposite to that Of Satan. He wields a scepter of righteousness,
whereas Satan reigns in wickedness. In Rom. 5:21 we read,
"For as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace
reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord." The reign of Christ, is a reign of grace. It is
the opposite of the reign of sin. We are translated from the
power of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, Col. 1:13.
Of this reign there is no end. It reaches over all the world
wherever the gospel makes Christ known; it lasts for all time;
Christ wields His scepter in righteousness and He reigns over
the Israel of God, the children of the faith of Abraham, who is
father of all who believe. The true nature of His kingdom comes
more properly under a later chapter dealing with the Messiah.
| ||||
