The Divine Covenants

The Davidic Covenant (Part 6)

We have already mentioned the frequency of the scripture’s mention of “forever” which can only apply to Jesus and His eternal kingdom. We see individuals as types of Jesus but the Bible goes beyond this and the Spirit chooses even more permanent objects to impress us with the eternal nature of God’s plans:

· Ps 89:36-37, that his line will continue forever and his throne endure before me like the sun; it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky."

We have said earlier that the “house” referred to in 2 Sam. 7:13 and 16 is no earthly house made of earthly materials, but, like the throne and the kingdom, it is a spiritual, heavenly, and eternal “house”. The kingdom of Jesus and the house of God are one and the same, viewed from different angles. It is the redeemed who constitute the true subjects of the kingdom of God and it is the redeemed who provided God with a satisfying resting place. The true house in which God lives is a spiritual one, composed of living stones, converted souls.

· Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,

Here the kingdom of God is expressly called Mount Zion. And where is the kingdom of God? It resides in the hearts of believers.

If further proof is needed then we should look at:

· 1 Tim 3:14-16 Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

So we conclude that the antitypical David, Jesus, has built the house for God’s name. That house is the church of God. And it will remain forever.

· Heb 3:5-6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God's house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

And then:

· Rev 21:3-4, And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

We have already seen that David himself was not ignorant of the higher spiritual significance of the covenant promises made to him.

We now want to turn to the Prophets where we will find predictions based on the promises made to David in 2 Samuel 7. We need to understand that in the Old Testament existing things and institutions were used to represent other things of a higher order, so the fulfillment of ancient predictions are generally to be found in a spiritual interpretation. When we read,

·  Cor 5:7… For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed...

we understand what is meant by this. And when we are told in Galatians 3 and 4 that Christians are the children of Abraham we see that this is the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham’s seed.

Now let’s look at a very familiar passage:

· Isa 9:2-7 The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder. For as in the day of Midian's defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor. Every warrior's boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit here was to intimate the character of Jesus’ kingdom. In the previous chapter Isaiah had spoken of dark and dismal days of troubles, and then he comforted and encouraged the believers by announcing the wonderful things the Messiah would accomplish.

Three New Testament blessings are spoken of in Old Testament terms.

· First, a great light would shine on a lost world. There can be little doubt as to the meaning of this for the Holy Spirit explains it in Matthew 4 that Jesus came and lived in Capernaum as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Isaiah did not refer to some far distant millennium but to the Christian era. And as we find further in the New Testament, the prophecy concerned not just Jews but Gentiles as well.

· The second blessing was an enlargement and rejoicing in the Lord. The “enlarged nation” was a spiritual nation of believers.

· The third blessing is spiritual liberty and freedom.

The “For” of verse 6 shows the definite connection with the earlier verses and announces the “who”(Jesus) it is that would secure the blessings. The “us” refers not to the fleshly descendants of Abraham, but to all of the elect. The “government” upon His shoulders is no mere rule over Jerusalem, but is over the entire universe. His reign is not to be temporary but “forever”.

We have just spent some time in the passages from the book of Isaiah. We see the 53rd chapter devoted to Jesus. The 54th chapter is about the church. Now in the 55th it deals with the covenant of grace made with us in Jesus.

· Isa 55:3 Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

· Isa 55:3 (NKJV) Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you-- The sure mercies of David.

Notice that the New King James version uses the term “the sure mercies of David”. The sure mercies of David were the things promised to the antitypical David in the 89th Psalm which we have looked at already. This is referring to the sure mercies of Jesus, not the natural David. We know this because when Isaiah prophesied about these mercies David had been dead for centuries.

Clear proof that these mercies referred to Jesus is found in:

· Acts 13:32-37, "We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: "'You are my Son; today I have become your Father.' The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: "'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.' So it is stated elsewhere: "'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

These sure mercies of the true David, Jesus, indicate that God would raise Him from the dead to everlasting life. And Isaiah extends these same sure mercies to all of us who believe. So that which was promised to Jesus is also promised to us as believers.

It was the covenant which assured these mercies to Jesus’ family, and none of them can be eliminated. All of this was dependant on the resurrection of Jesus because He was resurrected to assume the power of the sovereign God. It is this sovereign power that assures us as believers of the promises, the sure mercies of David.

· Matt 1:1 A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham:

Here we have in the introduction to Matthew a summary of the whole New Testament. Jesus is presented in His sacrificial character as the true Solomon, the true Isaac inasmuch as He has submitted Himself to the sacrificial altar, risen and seated on the divine throne.

As we approach this segment of our study let’s look at:

· Luke 1:30-34 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."

First, I think it is interesting that this is taken from the book of Luke which is practically a message for the Gentiles. Second, Jesus will reign forever and not just for a thousand years. Third, the prophecy of verse 32 has already been fulfilled and is now ruling over the spiritual house of David.

It will be helpful to look at Peter’s Pentecostal sermon in Acts 2 where he furnishes proof that Jesus was the promised Messiah.

· Acts 2:22-24 "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.

This is followed by a quotation from David:

· Psalm 16:8-11 Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Peter followed this quotation from David with this comment from:

· Acts 2:29-33, "Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

Here Peter is dealing with questions put to him, one of which was: What was the meaning of this extraordinary experience they were observing of the apostles speaking in tongues? Peter explained that this was evidence that Jesus had risen from the grave and was now in heaven from whence He had loosed the Holy Spirit to distribute the gifts of the Spirit. He concludes his argument by saying that David was still in the grave and had not ascended to heaven. Therefore the prophecy of David in the 16th Psalm had to be referring to the Messiah instead of David himself.

The premise of Acts 2:30 was that Jesus should sit on David’s throne and the conclusion was that God had made Jesus “both Lord and Christ” in verse 36. Now nobody can fail to see the connection that being “Lord and Christ” can mean nothing except that He is seated on David’s throne. So God’s promise to David had now reached its fulfillment.

A little later on in Acts Peter and John had been before the Sanhedrin where they were commanded to stop teaching about Jesus. They refused to obey that command and when they were released they spoke to God in prayer and quoted David:

· Acts 4:26-27 The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.' Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

In verse 26 they quoted from the 2nd Psalm and what David said in the Psalm was the same thing that was being done to Jesus now. Notice the connection between the Anointed One in verse 26 and the reference in verse 27 to “Jesus whom you anointed”.

What we are doing here is noticing how the Holy Spirit uses “David” and the “throne of David” and the way that it is predictive or a type of Jesus. For example look at:

· Amos 9:11, "In that day I will restore David's fallen tent. I will repair its broken places, restore its ruins, and build it as it used to be,

This Old Testament promise has a New Testament fulfillment. In Acts 15:16 we see Amos being quoted at the Council at Jerusalem. The context of Amos’ statement is made clear in Verse 8 where Amos says:

· Amos 9:8 "Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth-yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD.

So “in that day” is speaking of a future day when the sinful kingdom of Israel would be destroyed by God. Very interesting is the phrase “from the face of the earth”, speaking of Israel. We cannot avoid noticing that the dictator of Iran has promised to do the same thing. Then an interesting question arises: Is there to be a second fulfillment of Amos’ prophecy? And does Israel’s rejection of Jesus as the Messiah fit the description in Amos of the “sinful kingdom?

Now back to verse 11. The prophecy stated that God would restore the “fallen tent of David”. What do you suppose this refers to? Well the “tent of David” was the earthly kingdom of God. So there would be a restoration of the place where God would be worshipped, meaning that the Messiah would be on the scene.

But for the last thousands years of the Old Testament God’s kingdom on earth was identified with David’s throne. The kingdom of Christ was the fulfillment of the prophecy “to restore David’s fallen tent”.

It would be safe to say that as David restored the theocracy by delivering Israel from the Philistines and others, so Jesus delivers the kingdom of God from its enemies on a lasting foundation. So the prophecy of Amos received its fulfillment in the incarnation of Jesus out of the ruins of the royal house of Judah, and at His ascension when God gave Jesus the throne of David, the mediatorial throne, and finally due to the preaching of the Gospel, God’s kingdom was greatly enlarged by the calling of the elect among the Gentiles. So in Acts, of the New Testament, we see the proper interpretation of Old Testament prophecy, showing us that the prophecy is to be understood in its spiritual sense.

· Rom 15:12, And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him."

Now will you notice that Paul, here in the New Testament, is quoting Isaiah’s prophecy from the Old Testament. What could have been Paul’s purpose? Well, his purpose was to demonstrate that the true David was Jesus the Savior and King over the Gentiles.

Now some logic: If the Davidic reign or the Kingdom of Jesus were yet future, this quotation would be irrelevant because when Paul was preaching, the “Root of Jesse” had already come and the future tense of the quote would not be meaningful. Of course Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles.

As we near the end of this study of the Davidic Covenant we should look a:

· Rev.3:7, "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

In Scripture the “key” is commonly known as the symbol for authority, and the key of David signifies that Jesus has been given kingly dignity, position and power. In:

· Isaiah 22:21-22 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.

This was said to one who foreshadowed Jesus and they are the words of God Himself.

Now for our Jewish friends and any others who may believe that the Messiah’s assuming the “throne of David” is yet future, that is, that we are still looking for the advent of the true Messiah, we simply must consider the words of Jesus Himself in the 3rd chapter of Revelation above.

· Rev 5:4-5 Then one of the elders said to me, "Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals."

Now just a few brief ideas about this passage. First, we believe that the sealed scroll is the title deed to the earth, which was lost by Adam. Second, Jesus as the “Lion of the tribe of Judah” was able to open the scroll. He got this right by conquering sin and Satan and death. Third, it is as the “Lamb” that He takes the scroll for He as the Redeemer, purchased that right. Fourth, we see Him here in the midst of the throne, showing that He now has eternal authority.

And with that, we end our study of the Davidic Covenant.