God’s Unconditional Promises to David
Preacher: Phil Swain Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-17
Over the past 6 weeks we are been exploring the Promises of God mainly through the lens of some Old Testament stories. This is our last week in this Sermon Series and Phil is back from holidays to share about God’s unconditional promises to David. We have been exploring God as a promise-keeper – someone who keeps their word and can be trusted. God is a good and loving God, and when God says something, we can believe it. But when we look at people (such as King David), we have to acknowledge that we are not as good at keeping promises. David’s story is full of bad decisions and unfaithful actions; and yet every time that David returned to God asking for forgiveness and help – God was always there for David. In this time of worship and learning (and most likely a story or two from Phil’s holidays) … it is our hope that we all might see that we can also trust in God’s unconditional promises for us.
It feels like forever since I have preached from this pulpit. It is it nice to be back! For the six Sundays that I have been on holidays you have been exploring the Old Testament theme of Promises. In today’s world … we have got a little sceptical about the idea of promises haven’t we? Like, if a politician makes an election promise, do we believe them? Not really.
And I guess that all of us have been at some point been personally hurt by a broken promises from someone close to us. And maybe even leading to ongoing trust issues.
And yet, the idea of promises is a major theme in the Bible. God is described as a promise-keeper. We believe in a God who is faithful – a God who keeps always keeps his promises!
God promised to never again flood the world after (Gen 9:11). God promised to lead the Israelites to the Promised Land (Josh 1). God promised to send us a saviour (Isaiah 53). And God did all of this and so much more. Indeed, Psalm 145:13 tells us God is “trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does”
The Bible takes this idea of promises a step further and talks about covenant. A covenant is a deeply significant and personal promise or contract between people or communities. A covenant outlines the understanding of the promise and the conditions and expectations for each side for that promise to be kept. One of the most familiar biblical examples of a covenant for us is marriage. In marriage a couple make promises to each other … but marriage is more than just a promise. It is a commitment to spend life together, to be faithful, to always be there for each other in all circumstances to support and love.
When it comes to promises – the bible talks about God making a covenant with us – that God will be our God and we will be God’s people, God’s family. Over the past six weeks you have been looking at some examples of these covenants between God and people. The covenant between God and Abraham where God said that he would bless Abraham and all his descendants. Or the covenant with Moses – a promise to save the people from slavery and lead them to the promise land. A promise to provide for them and guide them through the giving of the law.
Today in our bible reading from 2 Samuel we read the Davidic Covenant, God’s promises to David to establish an ongoing house or throne or kingdom ruled by his ancestors. That David’s name will be great forever! (2 Sam 7:25-26)
Let’s take a close look at David. When Michelangelo created what is described as the greatest statue ever – he chose David as his subject. I just happened to see David on my recent holidays … get used to it … there will be heaps of holiday stories as sermon illustrations!
So here is me with David when we were in Florence. And it is huge. About 4 metres tall. It has been called the greatest statue ever because it is so perfectly made. Apparently, Michelangelo took anatomy classes so that he could understand how to get the muscles and even the veins anatomically correct. Has anyone else seen David?
While the statue might be perfect … David as a person was not.
When we read the story of David in Samuel and Chronicles we find a person who was both a faithful man of God and yet a flawed human who made some really poor decisions.
We first meet David as a lowly shepherd who was selected by God, and anointed to become the next king of the Israelites. He showed amazing faith and trust in God by standing up to and defeating the enemy Goliath. As king he reigned for 40 years and was considered to be the high point of the kings of Isreal. And yet, David was a flawed human being who did terrible things including lying, deceiving, adultery and murder. One things that David did have going for him is that he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Sam 13:14). Time and again, when David failed, he would repent and turn back to God. We can read many of David’s expressions of lament and repentance in the Psalms.
So with this complex picture of David as a faithful yet flawed person … how do we understand the promises, the covenant that God has with David as expressed in 2 Samuel 7. Let’s step through this and see what emerges.
Our reading starts with King David wanting to build a house for the Ark of the Covenant. David is flying high in his kingship. He had conquered many of his enemies, built an impressive palace in Jerusalem and had brought back the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem as well. What’s next? If he as King was living in an impressive house, so should the Ark of the Covenant.
Just as a side note … when we were in Rome we saw many, many examples of the church thinking the exact same thing as David. How do we build a house that is worthy of God, how do we build a building that reflects God’s glory and awe and power and beauty? They were amazing buildings and exactly what David was thinking when he said to the Prophet Nathan, “We should be building a place for the ark of the covenant”.
The prophet Nathan replies … “Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you”. 2 Sam 7:3
This is the first time we met Nathan the prophet. The dominating prophet up to this point had been Samuel. Samuel was the one who anointed David and guided David through the early years of his kingship. But Samuel had died and Nathan had become the next prophet of God. And you can just imagine Nathan, first time before this great king and David says “I want to build a house for God” … but rather doing what prophets should do and check in with God … it is almost like Nathan is star struck and replies … “God is obviously with you – do whatever you like”. But that night, God speaks to Nathan and says, “As a prophet, you are supposed to speak for me. Go and ask David why he thinks he should build a house for me? I never asked for one.”
I just need to pause for a moment here and talk about an interesting insight that the Hebrew brings to this reading. Thirteen times in this chapter we read the word “house” but it is used in a number of different ways … which is more obvious in the original Hebrew but in English we just use the word “house”.
For example, in verse 1 when David is speaking about his “house of cedar” he is referring to his palace, but when they are talking about a house for God, they are referring to a temple. But then in verse 11, when God is saying that the Lord will establish a “house” for David, it is about an ongoing legacy where David ancestors will continue as king. Verse 13 hints as house as the kingdom – either David’s kingdom or even God’s kingdom. And if we skip down to verse 25, 26 and 29, it talks about God making his promises to “the house of David” … where house is a metaphor of the people of Isreal or the people of God.
I just find this interesting, and we need to hold this in our minds as we look at covenant that God makes with David … because while it is about David’s kingdom or rule … it is also about God’s kingdom and a covenant with all the people of God … including us.
So back to our reading. David says to God, let me build you a house and God responds … that is not what I need from you. Besides, what makes you think that you can do this for me?
God reminds David that without God, he is nothing. God is the one who has appointing him as ruler. God was the one who defeated his enemies. And instead of allowing David to do nice things for God, God promised David to continue to bless him – including
- Make his name great (v. 9);
- Establish a home for Israel (v.10).
- Keep the people from oppression (v. 10);
- Give David rest from his enemies (v. 11).
- Establish a house for David descendants (v.11-14).
- Allow David’s son to build God’s temple (v. 13).
- And promising to always be there and love David and his descendants forever (v. 15).
And then to conclude, God actually refers to another covenant – what we call the Messianic Covenant – when he promises David that a kingdom will be established in the line of David that will endure forever. (v16) – which of course is referring to Jesus.
So what is the significance of these amazing promises to us? What is the good news for us here at TUC, for these promises to David?
Well the obvious answer is the good news of Jesus. God’s promise to David to always love and be there for his family is not only referring to his ancestors but also includes all the people of God – including us. And we live within the Kingdom of Jesus that was promised in verse 16. That is the good news for us! But I want to also pick up on another point which is a little more written between the lines, but I think is also profound.
One of the interesting aspects of these promises known as the Davidic covenant is that God doesn’t place any conditions upon them. They are unconditional.
When Kevin preached on the Mosaic Covenant – the promises given by God to Moses – he may have noted that they came with conditions. God gave Moses and the people of God the commandments and laws and promised that if they follow these laws they would be blessed. It was conditional.
Deuteronomy 28:2 spells it out… All these blessings will come on you and accompany you IF you obey the Lord your God.
But when it came to David … it is intriguing that God doesn’t place any conditions on it at all. God doesn’t say, “I’ll do this if you keep my Law” or “if you love Me.” He simply explains to David, that these promises rest entirely on God’s grace, mercy, love, and faithfulness — not on anything David does for Him, or even whether the people cooperate.
David offers to build God a house and God replies, “you don’t get it. It is not about what you do. My blessings are unconditional. I will keep my promises regardless of what you do or don’t do”.
It is the exact same point as we know from Eph 2:8-9 when Paul says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this is not your own doing, it is a gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.”
God makes the same point to Abraham in God’s covenant to him in Genesis 15. Back then, when two people made a promise or covenant, they would symbolise this by sacrificing some animals, splitting them in half and walking together through the split carcasses – both as a commitment to the promise but to show that if either party broke the promise the covenant would end.
When God made the Covenant with Abraham, Abraham set up this symbolic gesture but God then made Abraham fall into a deep sleep and only God (appearing as a blazing torch) passed through the pieces. God wanted to show Abraham that the covenant was not dependant on Abraham being faithful to the promise … it was only dependant on God keeping the promise … and God always keeps his promises.
For David, the fact that God’s promises were unconditional was so important because as we noted earlier … while David had a heart for God, there were many times when David let God down, when the actions of David would have broken the covenant if it was conditional. David was not a perfect man — like Michaelangelo’s statue – not even close. God knew this and so offers David this unconditional promise.
We too are recipients of God’s unconditional promises. There are too many promises in scripture to mention … but let me give you 10 …
- God promises to strengthen you. Eph 3:14-16
- God promises to give you rest. Matt 11:28-30
- God promises to provide for your needs. Phil 4:19
- God promises to respond to your prayers. Matt 7:7
- God promises to work for good in our lives. Rom 8:28
- God promises to always be with you Matt 28:20
- God promises support in difficult times. Psalm 91:2
- God promises to always forgive. 1 John 1:9
- God promises that nothing will ever separate us from God’s love for us. Romans 8:38-39
- God promises us abundant and eternal life. John 3:16
This is just small sample of God’s promises to us … and just like David, they are unconditional. God will keep these promises regardless of what we do or don’t do.
And in response, we live our lives in gratitude for all that God has done for us, reflecting the same love, grace and generosity that God has given to us to the people around us.
Amen.