The Forever King (2 Samuel 7:8-17)
INTRODUCTION:
Last week with the beginning of December we began our remembrance of the incarnation of Jesus Christ and we began by looking at Christmas in the Old Testament. We learned in the book of Genesis that the One who was to come to crush the head of the serpent was to be the Seed of the woman, in other words, the Messiah, the Savior would be virgin born having no human father and in this way the incarnation would be fulfilled, God in human flesh, coming with the express purpose of dying for the sins of mankind that we might be reconciled to God, that our sins might be forgiven, that we might be justified and saved from God’s judgment and wrath against sin.
This morning we are going to another passage in the Old Testament in which God speaks through the prophet Nathan. In this passage God will reveal several promises that He will fulfill that will culminate in the birth of Jesus Christ. This morning we will see Christmas in the book of 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel 7 opens during the reign of king David, his palace in Jerusalem had been completed and he had moved in. The ark of the covenant had been brought up from the house of Obed-edom to Jerusalem where David had pitched a new tent to house the ark of the covenant. David settling into his house of cedar, the Lord giving him rest from all his enemies, causes David to begin thinking about the fact that he lives in a house and the ark of the covenant is in a tent. So, he tells Nathan the prophet that he is going to build a temple for the ark of God, and Nathan without consulting the Lord tells David to do all that he has in mind, because the Lord is with him. That night the word of the Lord came to Nathan explaining that David is not to build a temple, that God has never dwelt in a house since the tabernacle was first erected when Israel had come out of Egypt. Our passage this morning picks up just after Nathan has told David that he is not to build the temple. In a series of “I will” statements God, through the prophet Nathan, makes promises to David about what He will do for him. First, He speaks of the things that He will do during David’s lifetime. Second, He speaks about what He will do for David after he dies, how his kingdom will endure, and finally He will speak of the first Christmas and the Forever King that will sit on David’s throne. Let’s pray and then get into our passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to 2 Samuel 7:8-17. We are going to just go down through this passage and look at these “I will” statements of God and see how in the time of king David these statements could lead us to Christmas. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of the Word of God.
2 Samuel 7:8-17,
“Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. 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 great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth. I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, 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. 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. He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 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, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”’ In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.” (2 Samuel 7:8–17, NASB95)[1]
COVENANT WITH DAVID (2 Samuel 7:8-9a)
This passage and its parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 17 have become known as the Davidic covenant, God’s covenant with His servant David, the promises made concerning David and his kingdom and his dynasty. God, speaking through the prophet Nathan, reminds David of where he has come from, God reminds him that he was a shepherd and God took him from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over God’s covenant people, Israel, to shepherd them. David came from humble beginnings, the youngest of Jesse’s sons, the great grandson of Boaz and Ruth whom the book of Ruth is about. Even when David was to be anointed as the king to succeed Saul, and Samuel was sent to anoint one of the sons of Jesse in Bethlehem as the next king only the other sons of Jesse came before him at the feast, David, the youngest was left with the sheep. It was only after Samuel inquired of Jesse if he had any other sons that someone was sent to bring David in from the sheep pasture to stand before Samuel. 1 Samuel 16:12-13 records for us what happened when David was brought from the pasture, the passage says, “So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance. And the Lord said, ‘Arise, anoint him; for this is he.’ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. And Samuel arose and went to Ramah.” (1 Samuel 16:12–13, NASB95)[2] From humble beginnings God called David to be the ruler, the shepherd, over His people, Israel.
The LORD of hosts then reminded David that He had been with him wherever he had gone and had cut off all his enemies before him. First and second Samuel are filled with David’s exploits and how the LORD was with him. We read in 1 Samuel 18:12-14, “Now Saul was afraid of David, for the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul. Therefore Saul removed him from his presence and appointed him as his commander of a thousand; and he went out and came in before the people. David was prospering in all his ways for the Lord was with him.” (1 Samuel 18:12–14, NASB95)[3] Everywhere that David went he had victory because the LORD was with him and gave him victory. After reminding David of these details leading up to his becoming king over the people of Israel, the LORD now begins to make His promises to David by making the first of His “I will” statements.
PROMISES DURING DAVID’S LIFETIME (2 Samuel 7:9b-11a)
The LORD states, “I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.” (2 Samuel 7:9b, NASB95)[4] This promise has been fulfilled and not only in the nation of Israel, but around the world. Even today David’s name is great. In David’s day his name became great in the known world as the LORD gave him victory after victory militarily. 2 Samuel chapter 8 is a list of David’s victories and how he defeated every one of his enemies and his name became great. His name continues to be great, even those who do not know the history of Israel or those who have not read the Bible have heard of King David and this is because God promised to make his name great like the names of the great men who are on the earth.
The LORD continues by saying, “I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them…” (2 Samuel 7:10a, NASB95)[5] This word translated place could mean a place for them to worship Him, or it could refer to the land of Israel where they dwell. If it is referring to the land, then this is a reiteration of part of the Abrahamic covenant in which he was promised the land of Canaan as a home for his descendants. The idea behind God planting them in the land of promise is that God will make sure that they are firmly established in that place that He has appointed for them. God goes on to explain what He means in establishing them in the land, He says that they may live in their own place and be disturbed no more. The land would be theirs to dwell in and they would not have to worry that they would be uprooted again and removed from their land. God promises no more violent men to afflict them as they had before when God had raised up the judges over the people of Israel. Remember after Joshua died the people instead of driving the rest of the peoples out of their lands, began to consort with them and began worshiping their gods. God would then allow the nations around them to oppress them until they cried out to the LORD and then He would appoint a judge who would deliver them. He says that this will no longer be the case under David’s rule, they will live in safety and peace because David was a man after God’s own heart and desired to lead the people of God in serving God.
The LORD’S final promise to be fulfilled in David’s lifetime was that He would give David and the people of Israel rest from all their enemies and as I already mentioned the next chapter in 2 Samuel outlines how that came about as David subdued the nations around him and brought peace and security to the people of Israel. Near the end of chapter 8 at the end of verse 14 we read, “And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.” (2 Samuel 8:14, ESV)[6] The LORD of hosts promises David a great name, a place of peace and security for His people, and rest from all their enemies and each of these took place during the reign of David.
COVENANT PROMISES AFTER DAVID’S DEATH (2 Samuel 7:11b-15)
The LORD continues in His covenant to David and speaks of how this covenant will continue into the future, even after David has passed from the scene. David desired to build God a house, but instead the LORD tells David that He will build him a house, this house refers to a dynasty, David’s kingdom will not end at his death. The LORD states in verse 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.” (2 Samuel 7:12, NASB95)[7] The LORD promised David that one of his own descendants would sit on the throne after him and that God would establish his kingdom just as He had established David’s kingdom. This king that shall reign after David will have a reign of peace because David had brought that about during his reign. This king, God says, will build a house for Me, a temple dedicated to the worship of the LORD, a house for God’s name. This is your desire, and it will be fulfilled in the reign of your son. We know from history that the descendant that God is referring to here is Solomon, the descendant God chose to sit on David’s throne. God did establish his kingdom and it was very prosperous and he also built the first temple for the LORD’S name and Jerusalem became the religious center for the people of Israel.
Then the LORD makes a statement that reaches out past Solomon, He says, “…I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.” (2 Samuel 7:13b, NASB95)[8] This is our first glimpse of Christmas in 2 Samuel. In verse 14 the LORD continues and says, “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, but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.” (2 Samuel 7:14–15, NASB95)[9] This first part, “I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me” are words that are directly related to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, by the author of Hebrews as he quotes this verse referring to Jesus Christ in Hebrews 1:5. According to Hebrew thought, since the son had the full character of the father, the future Seed, in other words, the most important Descendant of David would have the same essence of God. This is exactly the fact that is stated here, because Jesus Christ was God incarnate, He possessed the very essence of God. This is what John stated in the opening words of his Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1–2, NASB95)[10]
Back in 2 Samuel 7, the LORD then relates this phrase to Solomon and David’s other descendants who would sit on the throne as He goes on and speaks of a father disciplining his children and says that He will discipline David’s sons when they sin. This, of course, is in reference to any king of David’s line from Solomon on. However, the ultimate Descendant of David will not be a sinner as David and his other descendants were and would instead suffer and die for the sins of the world.
The LORD then promises that His steadfast love will not depart from His Son as it was taken away from Saul. God promises David a dynasty, that he will have descendants to sit on the throne and that the kingdom will be forever. What the LORD is telling David is that this covenant is unconditional, the ultimate Descendant, the Messiah will come to this glorious, eternal kingdom and that promise will not change.
CHRISTMAS IN 2 SAMUEL (2 Samuel 7:16)
As we come to the final verse of this covenant, we also come to Christmas in 2 Samuel. The LORD said to David, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16, NASB95)[11] All three of these, your house, your kingdom, and your throne are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Listen again to the words of our Scripture reading this morning, the words that Gabriel announced to Mary when he told her that she was to bear the Messiah. Gabriel said in Luke 1:31-33, “And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:31–33, NASB95)[12] Listen again to the LORD’S words to David, “Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:16, NASB95)[13] This is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, He is the descendant of David, He is the long-awaited forever King. This verse takes us to the first Christmas when this was announced to Mary that she would be the mother of the Forever King of Israel.
This word translated “forever” in 2 Samuel conveys the idea of an undetermined long period of time or it speaks into eternity future. It does not mean that there cannot be interruptions, like at this time when there is no king in Israel, but it does mean that the outcome is guaranteed. The Davidic reign of the Forever King, Jesus Christ, will conclude human history on this earth.
CONCLUSION:
The LORD spoke to David these words through Nathan the prophet, and within this covenant of promise that He made with David He included the first Christmas with the announcement of the Forever King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then down through the history of Israel, the prophets and the psalmists all pointed to the Messiah as the culmination and ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant. Many of the Old Testament passages we read at Christmas time are examples of what the prophets were saying. For example, a very familiar Christmas passage, Isaiah 9:6-7, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 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.” (Isaiah 9:6–7, NASB95)[14] Then as we come to the New Testament, first the Gospels go to great length to show that Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic covenant, giving both the genealogies of Joseph, His adoptive father in Matthew 1, and the genealogy of Mary, his mother, in Luke 3. These two genealogies establish without a doubt that He is the descendant of David with the right to the throne. The Gospels also establish His supernatural birth, born of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit, the incarnate Son of God, God in human flesh. The life of Jesus Christ as portrayed in the Gospels proves that He is who He claimed to be, and He is the Forever King. The Apostle Paul also testifies to the fact that Jesus is a descendant of David at least twice, once in Romans 1:3 and 2 Timothy 2:8. John in the book of Revelation relates the truth that Jesus is a descendant of David. By identifying Jesus Christ as the Messiah and as a descendant of David the Old and New Testament writers affirm their conviction that Jesus Christ is God’s ultimate, anointed ruler, Messiah, Forever King, first announced in the Davidic Covenant and confirmed when His birth was announced at Christmas time. Jesus Christ is coming again and when He does, “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.” (Luke 1:32–33, NASB95)[15] The Forever King, announced in 2 Samuel, born on Christmas Day is coming again and He will be the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant, and His reign on David’s throne will conclude human history on this earth.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.