David’s House
Notes
Transcript
Background
Background
We’ll be looking at the Davidic Covenant today.
This is an under appreciated covenant that doesn’t receive enough attention given its importance to understanding the Biblical story.
Let’s quickly summarize how we got to this point in the story of David.
Originally the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel were a single book.
So I think it’s improtant to start at 1st Samuel.
You’ll recall that the story starts when Hannah prays for a son, God gives her Samuel, and she dedicates him to the Lord.
Samuel eventually takes the place as judge from Eli the priest and his sons.
Israel thought they could live manipulate the Lord by bringing the ark into battle as their magic war genie.
The Philistines of cousre defeat Israel and capture the Ark.
The ark causes the Philistines all sorts of problems, they try to move it from city to city but evenutally they can’t take the punishment and send it back to Israel.
Arriving in a town in the ISrael, the epople of that town look inside the ark and 70 of them died. It says in 1 Sam 6.20
20 The people of Beth-shemesh asked, “Who is able to stand in the presence of the Lord this holy God? To whom should the ark go from here?”
So they moved the ark of the Lord to Kiriath-jearim and took it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and the ark stayed there a very long time - 20 years.
The people tell Samuel they want to draw near to God so Samuel tells them to repet and he then asks God for deliverance from the Philistines, which God grants.
But as Samuel grows old and his sons are acting as wicked jduges, the people ask Samuel to give them a king.
We know that Samuel and God are not happy with the nature of their request and through it they have rejected not Samuel, but God.
Saul becomes king, he fails, David is chosen by God, and much of the story from there is David running from Saul.
Saul dies and David is made king of the house of Judah, and Saul’s son is made king over other tribes in Israel.
So there is a civil war between the House of Saul and the House of David.
We read in 2 Sam 3.1
1 During the long war between the house of Saul and the house of David, David was growing stronger and the house of Saul was becoming weaker.
And then a few chapters later we read that all the tribes came to David:
3 So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. King David made a covenant with them at Hebron in the Lord’s presence, and they anointed David king over Israel.
Who controls Jerusalem at this time? And at that time the Jebusites controlled Jerusalem. Jerusalem has never been conquered until David does in 2 sam 5.
David captures Zion, described as a fortress, and calls it the city of David and Jersualem is in David’s hands.
It is at this time that David wants to bring the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem. It is still at Avinadab’s house.
As they are bringing it Uzzah reaches out his hand to stabalize the ark and he dies, David is afraid, keeps the ark at Obed Edom’s house over the three months, the Lord blesses Obed-Edom, so then David decides to bring the ark the remainder of the way.
David Dances, Saul’s duaghter who is one of David’s wives, ridicules him, he rebukes her.
And then we arrive at the passage describing the Davidic Covenant.
1 When the king had settled into his palace and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, “Look, I am living in a cedar house while the ark of God sits inside tent curtains.” 3 So Nathan told the king, “Go and do all that is on your mind, for the Lord is with you.” 4 But that night the word of the Lord came to Nathan: 5 “Go to my servant David and say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Are you to build me a house to dwell in? 6 From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until today I have not dwelt in a house; instead, I have been moving around with a tent as my dwelling. 7 In all my journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever spoken a word to one of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, asking: Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?’ 8 “So now this is what you are to say to my servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, to be ruler over my people Israel. 9 I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies before you. I will make a great name for you like that of the greatest on the earth. 10 I will designate a place for my people Israel and plant them, so that they may live there and not be disturbed again. Evildoers will not continue to oppress them as they have done 11 ever since the day I ordered judges to be over my people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The Lord declares to you: The Lord himself will make a house for you. 12 When your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up after you your descendant, who will come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and blows from mortals. 15 But my faithful love will never leave him as it did when I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
A House of Exaltation
A House of Exaltation
David’s request is not uncommon in his time. When armies would defeat a nation they it was common to dedicate success to the god. This is why Nathan doesn’t even think twice before telling David to go ahead and honour God.
But our God is unlike other gods adn this is the message Adonai teaches Nathan and David at the same time.
You see this exchange is all about how the name of God will ultimatly be exalted. Is God’s name going to be exalted by the same methods of the other nations or as men would expect?
The point to make is that God is choosing a different method from all other gods and nations to make his name great.
We read in vs. 7 that in all the journeys with the israelites, for all that time from Egypt until now, God hasn’t asked for a house of cedar to make His name great.
God doesnt make his name great simply by winning victories here and there. God makes his name great by committing to a people and moving through time and history in relationship to those people, committing to them through ups and downs, in order to bring them where He wants them so that when mankind looks back they can clearly see the faithfulness and sovereignty of God.
Notice that this is a unliateral covenant. There are no requirements placed on David to fulfil obligations. Once again we see a covenant where God commits but it is up to each generation to obtain the blessings of the committment or the cursees of the commitement - but the commitment from God will remain.
Mishpocha, this is the character of our God. When others are building their house of cedar to be exalted, our God is with the slaves in Egypt building his people so that through their exaltation he may be ultimately exalted.
House
The key word in this passage is ‘house’. The author makes a play on the word “house” (בַּ֫יִת, bayith) in this section.
What is a house? Here it is being used to denote (1) David’s palace, (2) the temple that he wishes to build to house the ark, and (3) the dynastic line of Davidic kings
So we have David’s house - a place where David is exalted because I mean after all, it was built with the cedars of Levbanon. That’s the first play on words.
Then David wants to exalt God by placing the ark in the house of the Lord, meaning building a temple. That’s the second play on words.
But God’s response is to exalt himself through David’s house which means the davidic kingly dynasty. That’s the third play on words.
So what God is promising here is to commit to Israel, and then not only to Israel but within Israel, to the Davidic line in order to bring about His exaltation.
What God has done is fixed his ultiamte exalation and reputation to the Davidic line. Only when David is exalted will God be exalted.
As I was writing this message, my son Shiloh was playing minecraft. And he’s clicking away on the mouse and he says to me: “Dada, do you like my house?”. Here is my son, building his little house, and here I am writing about the House that the Lord has built for him to be included in and that I am passing on to him. He doesn’t have the perspective about the house that I am trying to show him. This reminds me in some ways of David. David realises what God has been doing all along and what He plans to continue doing.
Pause for a minute on this point. Do you see why He commits to us so faithfully? Do you see what you participate in? You are the means by which God will be exalted. When you put your trust in Messiah Yeshua, the son of David, you joined this house.
You joined the very heart of the covenant that God has with His people.
A House of Fulfillment
A House of Fulfillment
Do you think God wanted a king? 1 Sam 8.4-5
There is certainly different opinions on this point.
I think David was in the plan all along because i think the future king messiah was in the plan all along.
Let’s trace the promise that God has woven through the scriptures to see this better.
Gen - promise of the seed to crush the serpent’s head.
Gen - mysterious Malchitzedek. - King of rightesouness - King of Salem who many think refers to Jerusalem.
Gen - Kings will come from Abraham. Gen 17.6
6 I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you.
Gen - Reuben, Simeon and Levi are skipped, adn then to Judah Jacob says the other brothers will bow down to him and the Sceptre will not depart nor the ruler’s staff from Judah. Gen 49.10
Numbers - Balaam’s prophecy - a star and sceptre will come out of Israel and will have dominion Num 24.17.
Duet 17 seems to imply that a king wasn’t entirely out of the question.
Joshua - demonstrates the conquest.
Judges and the Tribes
Judges and the Tribes
If you recall the book Judges talks about the inviduals God raised up to solve internal legal issues and to defeat the enemies of Israel.
The Judges were active when the tribal structure of Israel was prominent Israel and there was a lot of disorder and chaos.
The book of judges ends by saying:
25 In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
This is a common phrase throughout the book of judges and marks the tribal landscape.
Initially each tribe exercised a great deal of individual political and military autonomy.
Tribe:
Each tribe was composed of clans and families united by kinship or other social ties.
Clan:
Joshua allotted the land “according to their clans” (Josh. 15:1).
The clan was the basic subunit of a tribe and consisted of several families sharing a recognizable lineage.
Family:
Each clan consisted of several extended families called in Hebrew Beth-ab—“Father’s House”—
Each clan was governed by the heads of the families (elders).
This tribal structure is seen clearly in the story of the sin of Achan, where God identified the offending culprit first by tribe, then by clan, and finally by household (Josh. 7:14–19).
Ruth
Ruth
The book of Ruth was set during the time of the judges and that’s how it begins.
1 During the time of the judges, there was a famine in the land. A man left Bethlehem in Judah with his wife and two sons to stay in the territory of Moab for a while.
A lot of lessons can be found in the book of Ruth, but what do you think the main goal was? The book then ends:
17 The neighbor women said, “A son has been born to Naomi,” and they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
And from Ruth we go to kingship found in 1st Samuel.
Kingship
Kingship
The story of 1 and 2 Samuel brings partial fulfillment to the promises and prophecies of kingship. Through the story of Saul’s failed kingship, and David’s established kingship, God is revealing the kingly line promised and foretold.
Samuel starts where the period of the judges ends - Samuel and his sons were the last of the judges.
1 When Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons as judges over Israel. 2 His firstborn son’s name was Joel and his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beer-sheba. 3 However, his sons did not walk in his ways—they turned toward dishonest profit, took bribes, and perverted justice. 4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and went to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Therefore, appoint a king to judge us the same as all the other nations have.”
When you read the book of judges you get the picture that God raised up individuals to deliver Israel physically but also spirtually.
But as the story of the judges continues we see more and more spritiual breakdown and it explains it by saying ‘in those days there was no king in Israel’.
So the story of the judges actually ends here with Samuel’s sons. Even the great Samuel couldn’t ensure a legacy of judges that would provide stbaility and spiritual success.
So now we have to ask again - if God foretold of a future king what was wrong with the request from the people? Was that a bad request?
No it was their intention that was wicked in God’s sight.
They lacked the trust that God could protect them in the current situation through Samuel and provide for them after Samuel, and so they wanted a king to fight for them - be their protection.
19 The people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us. 20 Then we’ll be like all the other nations: our king will judge us, go out before us, and fight our battles.”
18 and said to the Israelites, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I brought Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians and all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions. You said to him, ‘You must set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and clans.”
12 But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was coming against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king reign over us’—even though the Lord your God is your king.
2 Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.
Hannah’s prayer: 1 Sam 2.10
10 Those who oppose the Lord will be shattered; he will thunder in the heavens against them. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth. He will give power to his king; he will lift up the horn of his anointed.
I think it is fairly clear that a king was in view but the people wanted a king of their choosing and for their reasons.
This is a reminder for us to wait upon God. Soemtimes we see the Ammonites in our lives and we want to appoint a king now to fight because God isn’t doing how we want through this old man Samuel who is about to croak.
I beleve we learn an important lesson from Samuel - do not judge with your eyes because God sees what men do not. Didn’t they look at Saul and thought - here is our warrior king! They were wrong. And didn’t they look at David and say ‘he’s too handsome and baby faced to be a warrior’. But what do they end up saying? Saul slew his thousands and David his ten thousands.
But the main point I want to make is this.
When we read about the Davidic covenant, when we read what came prior and when we look back at the writings and event that followed, we cannot escape the fact that our God is the God of history. It’s truly His Story.
When you read the Bible, it is unlike any other book. Written by 40 authors over a 1500 year time span, has a traceable and consistent them throughout all of that and is rooted in history becaue you can go and dig it up and see the events and places it refers to. There is no other religious wirting even remotely close to the authority and tangible reality found in the Scirptures.
This should bring every one of us abundant comfort. Espeically during times like this!
Earthquake in Iran, Earthquake in Taiwan, Earthquake in NY - while the UN is meeting on Gaza!, Meteorites in the sky over Iran, Israel and Iran on the verge of war, Israel at war, Red Heifers are found and ready and were one of the reasons Hamas decided to attack, and we could go on but these are only the beginning of birth pangs.
The fulfillment of God’s word in David was not an accident and it was fulfilled, and that means we can be sure that David’s son is not an accident either and his story will also be fulfilled.
A House of the Future
A House of the Future
I was thinking about what David turly comprehended from this promise given by God, trying to understand what would David have realised about his future line.
I think a clear moment of revelation for David is his response to God’s covenant to him in 2 Sam 7.19.
The hebrew of the passage is notroiously difficult to translate and so you will see various english options.
19 Yet this was a small thing in Your eyes, my Lord Adonai—for You have spoken also of Your servant’s house for the distant future. This is a revelation for humanity, my Lord Adonai.
But while the TLV trnalsates it as revelation, the word is not revelation, it is Torah. v zot torat ha adam adonai hashem. Adn this is the Torah of mankind. This kingship and throne is going to be the Torah for all mankind.
I was reading David’s song of thanksgiving in 2 sam 22 and there David said that the Lord heard him from his Temple. But what Temple, David doesn’t get to build the temple because he is a man of war and has shed blood, God chose his son Solomon to build it. It must be the heavenly temple David is referring to.
And then I read 1 chr 28.19 and realised that it wasn’t Solomon who desgined the temple, but it was David that gave Solomon the plans to build the temple. And where did David get them from? The text says he got them from the hand of the lord.
Adn then I thought about Yeshua’s words referring to Psalm 110 the lord said to my lord, sit at my right hand. and the question he posed to his detractors - how can david’s son also be his lord?
Adn when you put all of these piecs together with spiritual eyes you begin to see that David understood the future king Yeshua woudl be his Lord and the Lord of all the earth.
He understood this was a house all the way into the distant future that would affect everyone on earth.
A Failed Promise
But as you read 2 Sam 7 you might think that the promise has failed. It specifically says that David will not lack a man on the throne. This is God’s word He cannot lie.
You may recall my message I did on Jeremiah and his words to the people about keeping the Shabbat. Do you remember the belief I mentioned they had, they had the covenant theology that God wouldn’t destory Judah or Jeruslaem because the temple was there.
25 kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David; they will ride in chariots and on horses with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever.
so ywhen the Babylonians came and destroyed the holy city and temple you can imagine there wsa a lot of soul searching happeing in exile and going back over the prophetic texts especially the Davidic covenant.
And do you recall Yeshua’s words when he says that all the righteous blood shed on earth would be charged against the people from the blood of Abel (book of Genesis) to the blood of Zechariah (book of Chronicles).
The Hebrew Bible is not ordered like our books. The Hebrew bible starts with genesis and ends with Chronicles.
And Chronicles gives the overview of the story of the people of Israel and is written after the Babylonian exile. So that book has a different vantage point.
And in the Chronicles account of the Davidic covenant in 1 chron 17 that passage demphasizes any mention of sin on the part of the future son of David.
In other words the people of God had to look back and make sense of the original promise that God would give a throne of David forever and yet reconcile that with the reality of the exile.
and I beleive this is where the true annointed, the anticiaption of the true moschiach, begins to take centre stage in the minds of our people.
Similarities
We often speak about how others prefigure Yeshua, Joseph was rejected then received by his brothers. The same for Moses.
We know david has similarities but all we speak about is David as king. But there was more overlap than simply that.
David also has many similarities to Yeshua - he is shown in the text as anointed by God and had the Spirit upon him (1 Sam 16), yet despite this annointing he was opposed and persecuted (1 Sam 17–31), only later to be triumphant (2 Sam 5–6), and given an eternal covenant promise (2 Sam 7). David was even tempted by Satan just like Yeshua, but David failed - 1 Chr 21.1
In chapter 5 just prior, David conquered Jerusalem for the first time. Previous to that it was under Jebusite control. So we have David who has just conquered Jerusalem and established it as the city of David and he wants to bring the presensce of the Lord into Jerusalem.
So He brings the ark and dances before the ark and Saul’s duaghter Michal criticises David for this, but David’s reponse is found in 2 Sam 6.21-22
21 David replied to Michal, “It was before the Lord who chose me over your father and his whole family to appoint me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel. I will dance before the Lord, 22 and I will dishonor myself and humble myself even more. However, by the slave girls you spoke about, I will be honored.”
The picture we see is that only God’s annointed and chosen King can bring the presense of the Lord into Jerusalem. And this king will be criticized for the humulity in ushering in God’s precense.
On top of that, the hebrew root for David’s name is beloved. So the beloved and humble annointed king brings God’s presence and is promised a house.
Matthew’s genology.
The apostolic Scriptures starts like this:
1 The book of the genealogy of Yeshua ha-Mashiach, Ben-David, Ben-Avraham:
Matthew concludes his geneaoloyg like this:
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the Babylonian exile are fourteen generations, and from the Babylonian exile until the Messiah are fourteen generations.
The pattern there is obvious. But what is not obvious to us is that the hebrew gemtaria of David’s name is 14.
Matthew is telling us this is the promised son of David arranged by divine appointment.
And we also see in Matthew 21 Yeshua coming and riding on a donkey, a humble king, being escorted into Jerusalem to Hossana to the son of David.
I now can’t help but make the connection to David bringing in the ark of the Lord’s precense into Jerusalem for the first time, David dancing and singing with praise. And I can’t help but associate the pharisees in the crowd that said teacher rebuke your disciples with the voice of michal Saul’s daughter.
Conclusion
Conclusion
We could go on about how Yeshua fulfills this but I think we realise that.
What we need to become more familiar with is the foundation of the promise to Yeshua, which is the promise to David his father.
By tracing the story we can better appreciate the God of History adn the God who wants to be exalted through his faithfulness toward his people.
By understanding the foundational covenatns and passages of our belief in Yeshua we can better understand the words and language used by those that shouted ‘Son of David’ have mercy. These were cries that people intentionally made to someone they considered a king.
It’s clear that David’s house endures throguh messiah Yeshua.
And like all those that came before us we must wait and trust that the Lord will being salvation to this world. That messiah will return so taht through the exaltation of his people his name will be exlated.
The promise to David of a house is still a future hope that we have. We still await the king on the throne reigning from Jerusalem.