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God’s Promise to David – Week 15 / April 9th
“Thus says the Lord: “If you can break My covenant
with the day and My covenant with the night, so
that there will not be day and night in their season
then My covenant may also be broken with David…”
Jeremiah 33:20-21
God’s engagement with the world is by means of covenant; the greatest of these being the Abrahamic Covenant since it constitutes the Covenant of Decision. That is, God’s decision in Christ to save the world. Out of this great covenant flow all the other great covenants of the Bible. They give this covenant executive authority and therefore empower it. (Luke 1:46-55; 72-74. Romans 15:8) The Mosaic Covenant teaches us that we are sinners and under the wrath of God (Galatians 3:24) and thus drives us to Christ Who by the New Covenant saves us. (Galatians 3:13-14)
However, the Davidic Covenant also flows out of the Abrahamic Covenant in that it elevates the saved children of God to a position of royalty! Thus if we repent of our sins and embrace Jesus as the Lord of our lives we are destined to be joint heirs with Him and therefore in the age to come we shall mount His throne and rule with Him over the nations from Jerusalem. I know that it’s hard to believe but it is true. Paul for instance writes in Romans 8:17-17:
“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that
we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”
Jesus Himself promised us such a destiny when He said to the believers at Laodicea that, if they remained true to Him and overcame then they would:
“………..sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and
sat with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:21
Our destiny is therefore a glorious one and we should do everything possible to make sure that we reach it! It is not “a given” that we will ascend Jesus’ throne and rule with Him. So, we must note the following:
1. Jesus is the great Son of David
He said as much time and time again (Mark 12:35-37) and when He comes again to this world He will do so as the “root and offspring of David.” (Revelation 22:16) Indeed when His mother Mary encountered the Angel Gabriel he told her that her supernatural begotten child would inherit the throne of His father David and thereafter and forever reign over the house of Jacob. (Luke 1:30-33) This reign of Christ will reach to the extremities of the earth and so we are told, again and again in scripture, that He will rule the nations with a “rod of iron.” (Isaiah 11:4; Psalm 2:9; Revelation 2:27; 12:5; 19:15)
The promise then that David would reign forever and that his throne would last forever is fulfilled in Jesus.
2. Jesus the prize of His people
According to scripture only those followers of Christ who suffer with Him will reign with Him! Jesus is the “Pearl of Great Price” (Matthew 13:45-46) and those who truly see His worth will give everything to gain Him. This means to so identify with Him that one becomes hated by the world. His kingdom has nothing to do with this world system (John 18:36) and therefore the “system” will despise and resist those who embrace His eternal kingdom. This is why He was hated, betrayed and ultimately crucified. Real Christianity costs something! Paul recognized this when he wrote “all that would live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.” (2Timothy 3:12) The world is full of Christians who do not recognize the glory of their calling and so they do not seek Jesus with all their hearts and He is consequently not everything to them. What is He to you?
3. Jesus the judge of His people
Those ascending David’s throne will do so because of their works which flow out of His grace in their lives. (Ephesians 2:8-10; Revelation 19:8) These “works” will either be like precious stones in the sight of God or like useless straw. If the latter, we will not reach our ultimate destiny even though we are saved and will live forever in the New Jerusalem. To put it bluntly; we will have no reward. But if we faithfully follow Christ and pursue His perfect will for our lives we will rule and reign with Him. (1Corinthians 3:11-15) What a magnificent promise.
Jesus, after giving His Olivet discourse about His second coming, told a parable about the Ten Virgins. (Matthew 25:1-13) This parable warns us about growing weary and sleepy; spiritually speaking, so that we lose our vibrant relationship with Him and fall into a spiritual slumber. The startling truth of this teaching is that 50% of God’s children fall prey to this disease. The King or Son of David comes and they are caught wanting. This should make us all think.
4. Jesus the guarantee of Israel’s national existence
Jeremiah 33 tells us that as long as day and night are around just so long will Israel exist, not merely as a disinherited people, but as a nation! (Jeremiah 33:24-26) In fact this national preservation of Israel is required because of the promises that God made to David. The same promise was given to Mary by the Angel Gabriel and therefore since Jesus ever lives as the rightful King of Israel He underwrites Israel’s existence! This is precisely why David in Psalm Two tells us that no matter what the Church says or the world says, or the United Nations says, God will install the Son of David on His throne in Jerusalem. That is, old east Jerusalem.(Psalm 2:1-9) There is nothing that anybody can do to change this and those who resist it will, in the end, find themselves on the wrong side of history. The conflict raging in the Middle East today is merely bringing all the enemies of the King out into the open so that He can, in due course, rightfully judge them. (Mark 12:35-37)
When Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey two thousand years ago the people shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Shortly after this the same crowd called for His crucifixion but a day is now coming shortly when the same chorus will ring out and this time He will be welcomed, loved, worshipped and crowned forever as King. David will take His rightful throne and for the first time in human history there will be peace in the world. Even so Lord Jesus come!
Malcolm Hedding.
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
2013Devotional Blog