God made a covenant with David that had far-reaching implications for himself, for Jesus and, we shall see, for ourselves.
“And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne forever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son…But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom forever; and his throne shall be established for evermore” (I Chron. 17:11-14).
Jesus and David
The application to Jesus is made plainly enough in the New Testament. He was son of David and son of God and will sit in Jerusalem on “the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever” (Matt. 1:1; Luke 1:32-33).
David himself is promised eternal life by implication in the words, “thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee” (II Sam. 7:16). David will be living when the promise is fulfilled to his son and would see this continue on “for ever.”
But what about ourselves? On the surface, the covenant does not seem to have any direct application to ourselves.
Galatians 3 a precedent
The Davidic covenant is an extension of the everlasting covenant made with Abraham (cf. Gen. 17:7; Isa. 55:3). In expounding our participation in the Abrahamic covenant, Paul explains that we are to read the “seed” of the eternal aspects of that promise in the singular and apply it to Christ. We can become included as heirs of the promise by being baptized into Christ. The benefits promised to the single seed are thus enjoyed by all those rightly related to him.
Applying that same logic to the Davidic covenant would give the following:
“Now to David and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, ‘and to seeds,’ as of many; but as of one, ‘And to thy seed,’ which is Christ…For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ…And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye David’s seed, heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:16,27,29 with “David” inserted for “Abraham”).
Is this correct? Is it true that, if we are Christ’s, we are heirs of the promises made to him in the Davidic covenant? When we look carefully at the New Testament, we find that, yes, it is true; the specific blessings of the Davidic covenant are promised to the faithful disciple of Christ.
Reigning for ever
The promise to the Messiah is, “I will stablish his throne forever…I will settle him in…my kingdom forever.” The promise to the faithful is, “If we suffer, we shall also reign with him” (II Tim. 2:12): “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne (i.e. David’s, Luke 1:32), even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne” (Rev. 3:21): “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:10): “And I saw thrones, and they (the redeemed) sat upon them…” (Rev. 20:4).
A king-priest
The Davidic covenant said, “I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom.” Since the seed was to be settled in God’s (not just David’s) house, this indicates that Jesus will also serve as a priest as well as a king on the throne in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 6:12-15 comments on this aspect of the promise: “He shall build the temple of the LORD (I Chron. 17:12), and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both…”
This promise to David concerning Christ’s priesthood is the basis of our hope to serve as priests in the future age. “…ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:9). “But they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Rev. 20:6).
Sons of God
The seed of David was promised by God, “I will be his father, and he shall be my son” (II Sam. 7:14). In Christ, we, too, become children of God; “Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ” (Gal. 4:7).
In II Corinthians 6:18, there seems to be a direct allusion to this aspect of the Davidic promise. Consider the significance of II Corinthians 7:1 which concludes the exhortation begun in 6:14. Referring back to what he has just said, Paul appeals, “Having therefore these promises…” Which promises?
Chapter 6:16 alludes to the promise of Leviticus 26:11-12, “I will set my tabernacle among you…and I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.” (This promise is actually rooted in one aspect of the Abrahamic covenant, “I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed…to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee…I will be their God,” Gen. 17:7-8.)
II Corinthians 6:17 refers to the promise found in Isaiah 52:11-12, “Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean thing…and the God of Israel will be your reward.” If God’s servants would be a holy people, not yoked with the wicked, they could rely on the fact that God would receive them.
But where is the promise alluded to in II Corinthians 7:18 that God “will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters saith the Lord Almighty”? This appears to be an allusion to the very passage quoted above (II Sam. 7:14; I Citron. 17:13). There is no other direct “promise” that God’s servants would be His children and He would be their Father. [The fact Paul uses the unusual phrase “the Lord Almighty,” rather than the more common “the Lord God” seems to confirm the reference. Note the name of God used in II Sam. 7:18-20. Four times David addresses God as “Lord GOD” (Adonai Yahweh) rather than the far more common title “LORD God” (Yahweh Elohim) ed.]
Paul thus appears to be referring to the very “promises” that we have learned to hold to so dearly. We see a similar drawing together of these great promises in Revelation 21:7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God (i.e. Gen. 17:6), and he shall be my son (i.e. II Sam. 7:14).”
Promises to us
We should thus be able to read the promises made to David concerning Christ very personally. In Christ, we may scripturally cherish them as our own. May we cling to them as the “anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast” that we may indeed “inherit all things.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One