The Covenant with David
A triple amen for a wonderful psalm. We're gonna look at 2 Samuel 7 this evening. This morning, we looked at the incarnation proper in John's gospel, John 1, 14. The word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. Well, tonight we'll look at the covenantal context, the promise given by God to David concerning the coming of the Messiah. So 2 Samuel chapter 7, I'll begin reading in verse 1. Now it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house, and the Lord had given him rest from all his enemies all around, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside tent curtains. Then Nathan said to the king, go, do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, Would you build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. Wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now therefore, thus shall you say to my servant David, Thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more. Nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel, and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the Lord tells you that He will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seat after you, who will come from your body, 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 his father, and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men. But my mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever." According to all these words and according to all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David. Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said, who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that you have brought me this far? And yet this was a small thing in your sight, O Lord God. And you have also spoken of your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord God? Now what more can David say to you? For you, Lord God, know your servant. For your word's sake and according to your own heart, you have done all these great things to make your servant know them. Therefore, you are great, O Lord God, for there is none like you, nor is there any God beside you, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And who is like your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth, whom God went to redeem for himself as a people, to make for himself a name, and to do for yourself great and awesome deeds for your land, before your people, whom you redeemed for yourself from Egypt, the nations and their gods? For you have made your people Israel, your very own people, forever. And you, Lord, have become their God. Now, O Lord God, the word which you have spoken concerning your servant concerning his house, establish it forever and do as you have said. So let your name be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God over Israel. And let the house of your servant David be established before you. For you, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, have revealed this to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore, your servant has found it in his heart to pray this prayer to you. And now, O Lord God, you are God and your words are true and you have promised this goodness to your servant. Now therefore, let it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue before you forever. For you, O Lord God, have spoken it. And with your blessing, let the house of your servant be blessed forever. Amen. Well, let us pray. God, thank You again for Your Word and thank You for this Davidic covenant, the promise of the Messiah. We thank You that we live on the side of fulfillment and that we have seen these things. We have seen all that was written in the Old Testament come to fruition, come to realization and fulfillment in our Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul said, all the promises of God are yea and amen in Him. And we rejoice, Lord God, in Your power, in Your sovereignty, in Your glory, and in Your majesty. You ruled over the nation of Israel. You kept them intact. You preserved them. You blessed and You ultimately brought forth the Lord Jesus Christ. how we give thanks to You for this, how we give thanks to You for the redemption that is ours in Him, and how we thank You that He rules and reigns over a kingdom that shall have no end. And we just pray now that Your Spirit would lead us as we consider Your Word, and that You would again forgive us for our sins and anything that would darken our understanding. And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, we have in this particular chapter what's called the Davidic Covenant, and essentially it's a promise of God to David concerning the coming Messiah, the coming Lord Jesus Christ. Verses 1 to 17 deals with the covenant, and then verses 18 and following is David's response to that revelation, we'll just take up the first half tonight. We'll look first at the desire of David in verses one to three, and then secondly, the covenant with David in verses four to 17. But if you look first of all, with reference to his desire, We note the occasion upon which he is musing and contemplating and desirous to build a house for God. Verse 1 tells us, Now as we look at this book of 2 Samuel, David, of course, was anointed to be king in 1 Samuel chapter 16. But Saul wanted to make sure that that never happened. Well, by the end of 1 Samuel, Saul is dead. David is king. And in chapter 5, David becomes king, not only over Judah, but also Israel. He is the ruler over the United Kingdom. Both the North and the South are under the control of David. As well, in 2 Samuel 5, we see that Jerusalem is made the political capital. It is from that vantage point that David will rule the kingdom. And then in chapter 6, it's also made the religious capital. The Ark of the Covenant is brought to Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 6. So it is a time of rest for David. It is a time where he is enjoying the fruits of the labors of his hands. It is a time when he is undergoing the very blessing of God Almighty. And notice in verse 1, it says, when the king was dwelling in his house, he is meditating upon this, he is musing upon this, and that drives the desire of verse 2. Verse 2 says, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells inside ten curtains. So David, as I said, is the king over this united monarchy or over this united kingdom. David has seen the political centrality of Jerusalem, the religious centrality of Jerusalem. He is now sitting in a wonderful house. He's got his own royal palace, and he's musing on the reality that God does not have a house. God, rather, is confined ultimately to a tabernacle, a mobile sort of a temple. And so David's desire is to build a house for God Most High. And according to the prophet Nathan, this is a good thing. Notice in verse 3, the prophet's response. Then Nathan said to the king, go do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. Now, there's a contrast between verses 3 and verse 4. God does not want David to build a house for God, and we'll see why as we move through the exposition tonight. But Nathan should have sought God first. He is a prophet of the Lord. David isn't asking Nathan as a man. David is asking Nathan as a prophet. He wants the revealed word of God Most High in terms of whether or not he is to undertake this building of the house of God. One man said, the prophet should have first waited for God's revelation. A good intention does not always mean that we are allowed to execute it. That Nathan too desired a temple for the God of Israel was not wrong in itself. The mistake made here was that he spoke as a man and not as a prophet, while his opinion as a prophet had been specifically asked for. So David wants to build a house. Nathan says, go right ahead and build the house according to verse three. But then that brings us into the covenant made with David in verses four to 17. This is given by divine revelation. God speaks to Nathan. God tells Nathan what he is supposed to say with reference to David's request, desiring to build a house for God. And that's the revelation of this covenant in verses four to 17. Notice in verse four, But it happened that night that the word of the Lord came to Nathan. And then again in verse 5a, go and tell my servant David. And then again in verse 17, according to all these words and according to all this vision. So Nathan spoke to David. This covenant is the revelation of God Almighty. This wasn't devised by men. It wasn't David's desire solely and alone to make a dynasty out of his particular family, but rather this was the divine purpose, the divine plan. God had everything under control. God had everything going according to his purpose and his decree. And so Nathan now comes to David, or rather, God first speaks to Nathan and gives him some background concerning this particular covenant. Notice in verses five to nine, the Lord gives Nathan a bit of history concerning the Ark of the Covenant and concerning this tabernacle, this mobile temple. In the first place, he highlights the previous location of the Ark. Notice in verse five, go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, would you build a house for me to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle." So you see, the Lord God says that His glory is seen, first and foremost, not in the temple. Now, the temple is going to be a revelation of God's glory. Once Solomon does build it, David's son, it is a wonderful structure. It is a place where God's Shekinah glory does come. But the distinction that God makes here specifically in verse 6 is that His glory is not first and foremost seen in the structure, but rather in His powerful deliverance of the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Notice that verse six, for I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle. The glory of God is seen in his powerful deliverance, not in the first place in his presence or in his place of dwelling, but as well, the glory of God is seen in his dwelling near and with his people. Think about the new covenant sort of application of verse six. He says, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle with those children of Israel. The Lord God's presence was, dare I say it, felt among the nation of Israel. The Lord God's presence is with us today. And I think Davis's comment here is wonderful. He says, do you see what Yahweh is saying about himself? He is the God who travels with his people in all their topsy-turvy, here and there journeys and wanderings. Do his people live in tents? So does he. Are they a pilgrim people on their way to the land of promise? So he is the pilgrim God, sharing the rigors of the journey with them. Turn to the prophet Ezekiel for just a moment to shed further light on this blessed reality in a particular context where the people of God needed this reminder and they needed this encouragement. The book of Ezekiel is during the time of the Babylonian captivity. It is during the exile of the nation of Judah into Babylon. The people of Judah have seen their city destroyed, they have seen their temple destroyed, and many of them are now living in Babylon. And basically what is seen as the primary judgment or the primary problem with reference to that destruction of Jerusalem in 586 is not the desecration of the temple, though that's bad, the desecration of the city, though that's bad, but rather it is the withdrawal of God. That's what caused the problem. And yet God the Lord encourages his pilgrim people, those faithful, the remnant that are living in Babylon, with this blessed reality. Notice in Ezekiel 11 at verse 14. Again, the word of the Lord came to me saying, son of man, your brethren, your relatives, your countrymen, and all the house of Israel in its entirety are those about whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, get far away from the Lord. This land has been given to us as a possession. Therefore, thus says the Lord of God, although I have cast them far off among the Gentiles, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet I shall be a little sanctuary for them in the countries where they are gone. So even stripped of temple, stripped of city, stripped of their very location in the land of promise, as they have been exiled to Babylon, the faithful still know and have their God. God says, I will dwell among them. I will be a sanctuary to them in wherever place they find themselves. And the emphasis in 2 Samuel chapter 6 is the very same thing. Wherever the nation wandered, wherever the nation went, wherever the nation had their issues and their trials and their difficulties, God the Lord was there in their midst. That tabernacle was the symbolic representation of the presence of God among them. And then in 2 Samuel chapter 7 at verse 7, he highlights the previous leaders in the nation. And in verse 7 he says, "...wherever I have moved about with all the children of Israel, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house of cedar?" So God hasn't been asking for it. God didn't say, okay, David, now that you're in this wonderful panel house or this cedar house, I want you to build me a house. That's not the case. The Lord God, as we move to this particular passage, wants, first of all, his people's rest in the land. He wants their stability. He wants their protection. He wants their provision. And then at that time, they can build a house for God most high. It really is a wonderful thing, and it displays His graciousness, His goodness, and His kindness. So the background to this Davidic covenant is the previous location of the ark, wherever the people of Israel were, and then as well, the previous leaders of God's people. And that brings him to consider specifically David in verses 8 and 9. Notice what he says, now therefore, verse 8, thus shall you say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth. So the Lord graciously chose David. David is a type, obviously. Jesus is the anti-type, to be sure. Jesus is the son of David. Jesus is from the line of David. Jesus is the focus of the promise here in 2 Samuel 7. But prior to that, David was, in fact, a good man. He was a man after God's own heart. He was a man that exercised biblical fidelity. He was not a perfect man. We know from 2 Samuel 11 and 12 that David committed gross sin, but God forgave him of that gross sin because that's what God does. Not so that we'll go out in sin, so that we receive that, but when we do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, and David understood that all too well. He was a good man. God chose this particular man as one of the sons of Jesse to lead the nation of Israel. The Lord was constantly present with David in the good times and bad times. Notice in verse 9a, and I have been with you wherever you have gone. Again, that is God's presence with his people. Not just when we perceive everything is going well, but even in the midst of trial and affliction and difficulty, God is there with us. When the nation of Israel is wandering through the wilderness, it's not as if God had banished them or God had forsaken them. Remember in Deuteronomy 1, verse 31, God uses the analogy of a father carrying his son to speak concerning that wilderness experience. So while they concluded that God had forsaken us, God has abandoned us, God is not for us, we would rather go back to the land of Egypt, God says it's rather like a father carrying his son. And God says the same thing with reference to David. Wherever he's been, whatever the conditions, whatever the situation, whether good times or bad times, God has been there with David, and that is a most blessed encouragement. And then as well, the Lord powerfully dealt with David's enemies. Notice at the end of verse 9, "...and have cut off all your enemies before you, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men who are on the earth." David, king of Israel, was the man. David, king of Israel, got it done. David, king of Israel, was a man of bloodshed. And ultimately, that's the reason why God does not allow or permit David to build the temple. It's not because he was somehow defiled as being a man of war, but because that's what chiefly occupied his business, was to secure the kingdom. And once the kingdom is secure, his son Solomon will engage in a reign of peace And it's at that particular time that Solomon will build this house for God Most High. So the Lord had dealt graciously with David and powerfully with David's enemies, conferring upon David a great name. So that's God's communication to the prophet Nathan. And now Nathan comes to speak to David, or rather he continues to speak with reference to the covenant. Notice in verses 10 and following, the promise given through covenant. Verse 10, Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more, nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them any more as previously. There is a human analogy here. There's times when a father or a mother wants to make everything just so for their children, and then the mother or the father can take their rest. They want to make sure everything is secure and safe and stable for their children, and then the parents will take their rest. That's really how it ought to be, parents. We're supposed to engage in selflessness in terms of rearing our little ones. It's not the sort of I got mine philosophy. Make sure they get their food. Make sure they're tucked in nicely. Make sure that they're all provided for and cared for. And then as parents, we find our rest. That's the pattern that God is setting here. He wants the people of Israel in the land. He wants the people of Israel in the land with vanquished enemies. He wants the people of Israel in the land enjoying the blessings of God in that land. And then God will say, build me a house. that I may dwell in the midst of them. So verse 10 indicates that God Almighty wants the provision of the promised land, the provision of stability in the land, and the provision of protection in that land. Notice in verse 11, since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, The judges provided a degree of stability and security, but it was not foolproof. It would await David, king of Israel, to bring in this time of great blessing of God, and then Solomon to reign over that particularly peaceful era. that's when the house of God Most High would in fact be built. Robert Alter said, though the judges succeeded in temporarily driving off Israel's sundry oppressors, the period as a whole was one of instability and recurrent harassment by enemy peoples. Now, this is all going somewhere. David wants to build a house for God, but God says, I'm going to build a house for you. That's what verse 11 indicates. Notice the very end. Also, the Lord tells you that he will make you a house. Now this word house is doing triple duty in this passage. It refers to a physical dwelling place in verse two, where David lives. Here in verse 11, it refers to a dynasty. David wants to make a house for Yahweh, and Yahweh says, no, I'm going to make a house for you. A dynastic succession of kings will issue forth from you. That's the reality. And then in verse 13, house is utilized in terms of temple. there will be this temple built, ultimately, wherein Israel can go to worship and meet with Yahweh, the true and living God. So that's what God says. David wants to build a house for the Lord, but the Lord says, I'm going to build, or I'm going to make you a house. Now, again, the connection between the promises, Israel first, and then this dynasty to David, and then comes the house for God Almighty. Davis again says how can he God settle down when they Israel are unsettled? Perhaps we glimpse now why Yahweh wants no cedar temple yet He must make a secure place for Israel first verse 10. He will not rest till he gives rest to his people He will not give rest till he gives rest to his people. That's the kind of God that we serve That's the kind of God that is glorified in the in the lives of his people Now that brings us finally to consider the particulars involved in this covenant and how it touches specifically on the coming of the Messiah. Notice, verse 12 indicates that there will be a kingdom. Verse 12 says, when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and I will establish his kingdom. Now, seed is very important in the Old Testament. We see it in the book of Genesis. I didn't comment on Genesis chapter 24, but I will now. Why is Genesis 24 in the Bible? Because it is most important and crucial that seed issue forth from Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham that he would have many descendants and that he would inherit the land. So Abraham sees this, Abraham takes this seriously. So Abraham dispatches his servant to go fetch a wife for his son, Isaac. Why? Because seed is important. That's an overarching emphasis in the book of Genesis. Now we see that seed is important here in 2 Samuel chapter 7. Well, in Galatians 3.16, the apostle Paul identifies the seed as Jesus Christ the Lord. So the old covenant people were set apart by God for a multitude of reasons, but one of the primary reasons was, is that it's from that people that Messiah will come. It is from that people that the Lord Christ will come. It is from that people that salvation comes to the world. This is why the Lord God to Abraham can say, in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Not for Abraham proper, but for Abraham's seed, that seed who is Jesus Christ. So seed is most important in this particular emphasis. So the presence of the kingdom is obvious in this particular instance. But notice that in verse 12, it announces the fact that David is gonna die. I don't think this was a shock to David. I doubt David had this thought that he was gonna live forever and ever and ever, but God wants David to know that this promise is good. This promise will transcend David's earthly life. This promise is as good as the word of the Lord himself. And that's the emphasis. There will be this kingdom and then there will be this house that is built by one of David's seed. Notice in verse 13, he shall build a house for my name. Speaking about the seed of David. He shall build a house for my name and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Now the fact is, is that Solomon would build a house for the name of God most high. In 1 Kings, we see that the materials are gathered in chapters 5 and 6. We see the construction in chapters 6 and 7. And then we see the dedication of that temple in 1 Kings chapter 8. And Solomon says as much in 820. He says, so the Lord has fulfilled his word, which he spoke. And I have filled the position of my father David and sit on the throne of Israel as the Lord promised. And I have built a temple for the name of the Lord God of Israel. So Solomon would be the immediate application of this temple, of this structure, of this particular edifice, but the promise transcends that. It moves beyond that earthly structure to the Lord Jesus Christ. John Gill says, for the honor of it, for the worship and service of God, the building of this house, as it is well-known Solomon did, and so his antitype, the Messiah. And then he cites Zechariah 6.12, which is a most important prophecy in Old Testament revelation. So you see, Solomon is going to build this earthly house for the Lord God Almighty, but this seed is going to continue until the fullness of the time when the Lord Jesus Christ will say, I will build my church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Now notice the perpetuity of this kingdom. This is just, again, the reiteration or the affirmation of the sure word of the living and true God. He states the promise, 13b, I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever, and then he gives the proofs of this. And this, again, is hopefully an encouragement that when he promises things, it comes to pass. When God speaks, it's not false. When God speaks, it's not a lie. When God speaks, it's not deceptive. On Wednesday night, we considered Jude. and the book of Jude, and specifically verse 3, you know, contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. And the reason why Jude writes this is because of the presence of apostates or defectors within the professing church. And one of the things that Jude says about them is that they're sneaky. They're deceptive. They work in a way that is consistent with their father the devil. Remember, it's the devil who's the father of lies. He is a murderer from the beginning, and he's the father of lies. He speaks no truth whatsoever. That's not with reference to God. When God promises there will be a seed of David who will build a kingdom, and that kingdom will be forever and ever and ever, world without end. Amen. The Lord God most high can bring it to pass. Notice, there are several things stipulated by God that will not sidetrack this promise. In the first place, death itself does not annul the promise. David's gonna die, according to verses 12 and 13, but the promise doesn't die with David. The Lord is able to go beyond David to his seed, to that seed, the Lord Jesus Christ, and bring this to fruition. The presence of sin cannot destroy this promise, and that's encouraging, because David's earthly descendants leading up to the seed, which is Jesus Christ, sin. And some of them sinned a lot. And you might suggest, or you might be inclined to think, well, because of their sin, God is going to take from them their lampstand. But littered throughout 1 Kings is a reiteration of this promise. Even in light of the fact that some of the kings of Judah, the southern tribes, were not godly kings, the Lord said, nevertheless, I will not remove my lamp for the sake of David, my servant. So the promise of God is not annulled by death. The promise of God is not annulled by sin. And the promise of God is not exhausted by time. Notice what he says. Verse 14, I will be his father and he shall be my son. If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of man and with the blows of the sons of man. So there is this reality that the kings of Judah are going to sin. The kings of Judah are going to be chastened. The kings of Judah, however, are not going to be extinguished. Notice in verse 15, but my mercy shall not depart from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from before you. So you had Saul who was wicked and God rips the kingdom away from him. God then gives the kingdom to David and he secures this kingdom with this Davidic covenant that from his seed one will rise up that will sit upon that throne and will rule and reign forever and ever. And so the Lord Most High in his promise tells us death doesn't annul it, sin doesn't annul it, and time itself cannot exhaust the very promise of God. With reference to this comment concerning the withdrawal, the stripping away of the kingdom from Saul, Davis again says, David's line will never meet Saul's end. The idea seems to be that any individual Davidic king may meet disaster because of his infidelity, but that will not overthrow the promised endurance of the Davidic dynasty. To steal the house analogy, sin can bring disaster on any current resident, but cannot demolish the house. And that's precisely what Old Covenant Revelation teaches us. That is precisely what we see in those kings of Judah. They are held together by God until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then as I said, the time itself cannot exhaust it. Notice in verse 16, and your house and your kingdom shall be established forever before you. Your throne shall be established forever. John Gill says, that is, both his family and his government should be perpetuated, or he should always have one of his family to sit upon his throne. The accomplishment of which, in the beginning of it, he saw with his eyes in his son Solomon, and with an eye of faith in his greater son, the Messiah, in whom only these words will have their complete fulfillment. So David, beginning in chapter seven, wants to build a house for God. God tells Nathan the prophet, I want you to understand our history together, me and Israel. It was never the case that I asked those leaders for a house. It was never the case that I was wanting or clamoring for those particular things. I wanted Israel to be safely grounded in the land. I wanted them to be protected. I wanted them to be provided for. And when that obtains, then I can have a house built for my great name, and that is precisely the contours of redemptive history from this point in 2 Samuel. Again, David dies, his son Solomon reigns over a very peaceful situation, a very peaceful kingdom, and it's Solomon that is the one that brings to pass this act that David had desired, but the main point is the dynasty, this succession of kings that comes from David that ultimately leads to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And in conclusion, that's what we see. First, the desire of David, it was a good thing. But as that quote I read earlier, Nathan thought it was a good thing too, but it didn't come from God. We may want to do good things, brethren, but it must be according to the word of God. We must listen to the scripture when it comes to our action. And in this particular situation, Nathan should have asked the Lord before greenlighting David's desire to build this house for God. With reference to the rationale behind why David was not allowed or permitted by God to build this house, again, 1 Chronicles 22, 8, and 1 Chronicles 28.3 indicates that David was a man of war. David was a man of bloodshed. And I think we often misinterpret that and say, well, because he was a man of bloodshed that, you know, then he was just defiled and he couldn't actually build the temple. That's not the point at all. He was busy killing people and securing the kingdom. It would be Solomon that would have this time of peace where he could in fact build the temple. Kylan Dalich says, but in as much as these wars were necessary and inevitable, they were practical proofs that David's kingdom and government were not yet established and therefore that the time for the building of the temple had not yet come and the rest of peace was not yet secured. The temple is the symbolical representation of the kingdom of God as also to correspond to the nature of that kingdom and shadow forth the peace of the kingdom of God. For this reason, David, the man of war, was not to build the temple, but that was to be reserved for Solomon, the man of peace, the type of the prince of peace. So the desire of David was legit, it was good, but it was not intended by God to be in the life and career of David. But the desire was ultimately to be realized by Solomon immediately with reference to the earthly edifice that would be the temple of God, but ultimately leading to that promise concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up. He was talking about the temple of his body according to John in John 2 with reference to the Savior. Secondly, the covenant with David. It's intriguing. Here in chapter 7, the word covenant never comes up. It's never told in this chapter. God says, I'm making a covenant with you, David. But as we know from our understanding of scripture, just because a word is absent doesn't mean the concept of the doctrine is absent. I used the illustration this morning. If you look at your concordance, you won't find the word Trinity. That has led some to conclude that there's no doctrine of the Trinity. That's a bad way to interpret your Bible. That's a very heretical and bad way. That is associated with the worst in the history of the church. Not the best and the brightest, but the worst and the dullest. We are supposed to see the doctrine. And Psalm 89 tells us that this was in fact a covenant. We just sang Psalm 89. Psalm 132 uses the language of covenant. We read that at the outset of worship. Psalm 89, Psalm 132 penned by David rehearsing the promise of the Davidic covenant. Secondly, with reference to this covenant with David, the Davidic covenant is present in the prophets. The prophets themselves, over and over again, tell us or rehearse or reflect upon this transaction God made with David. In fact, in Ezekiel's prophecy, the coming Messiah is called David. It is a reference to David specifically. Well, as New Covenant readers, we know that it's speaking in typical language and that the antitype is the son of David, David's Lord. As well, the Davidic covenant is realized ultimately in the Lord Jesus Christ. And there are several passages we could turn to, but turn to Luke chapter one. Luke chapter one certainly has its tap roots in this Davidic covenant. Luke chapter one, beginning in verse 26. Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women. But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a son and shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the son of the highest, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. That song of Zechariah that we sang, that's recorded for us in Luke chapter 1, reflects upon the same promise in the Davidic Covenant. Turn to the book of Acts. We've seen this in our study in the book of Acts, this reference or rehearsal of the Davidic Covenant. Acts chapter 2 at verse 30. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne. He, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore, being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. You see, this promise in 2 Samuel 7, death could not annul it, sin could not destroy it, and time could not exhaust it. When the Lord God promised that in Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed, God meant it. And as we move from Abraham up to David, we see further revelation. We see more input from God. We see more description, more data, more information concerning God's program for salvation of His people. Our confession of faith refers to this movement as farther steps. God makes a promise of salvation in Genesis chapter 3 at verse 15. That promise is then moved along by these historical covenants, and its final realization is in the new covenant of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. One theologian, Samuel Petto, says, all the ancient covenant expressers run jointly to Jesus Christ and also to believers, which are his seed. The promises to Adam, Abraham, David, and et cetera, were not so many distinct covenants of grace. They were but various gradual discoveries of the same covenant, according to the variety of occasions in the several ages. Every new one being for some new end and bringing with it a further degree of manifestation and all run to Jesus Christ and us. See, covenant theology is the architecture of the Bible. It's what holds it all together. The flesh and the blood are on that architecture, which is covenant theology. This Davidic covenant is a blessed expression of God's purpose to bring about a kingdom, to bring about a king, and to usher in a blessed age wherein God is our God and we are his people. So that promise given to David in 2 Samuel chapter 7 certainly touches on the coming of the Messiah, the incarnation of our Lord, the reality that he now rules over an everlasting kingdom, and hopefully it speaks great comfort and great encouragement to our hearts. that when the Lord promises, the Lord secures that promise by bringing it to pass. And one prophet I want to end on, a prophet that picks up this Davidic covenant and points us forward in terms of New Covenant reality. He specifically speaks of Jesus in a way that all of us need to ponder. Jeremiah 23, 5 and 6, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will raise to David a branch of righteousness. A king shall reign and prosper and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In his days, Judah will be saved and Israel will dwell safely. Now this is his name by which he will be called, the Lord our righteousness. Yes, in His perfections, but also in His provision. The Lord is, in fact, our righteousness. It is His righteousness, imputed to us and received by faith alone, along with the forgiveness of sins that enables us to enter into the presence of a thrice-holy God and to enjoy this kingdom that will have no end. Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You again for the incarnation of our Lord, that blessed wonder that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And God, we see that all of Scripture runs this direction. All of Scripture, from the giving of that first gospel promise in Genesis 3.15, to the inauguration of the new covenant in the blood of the Lord Jesus. The scope of Scripture is the same. It's all about Christ and the glory of God and the salvation of sinners by the Son. And Father, we thank you that you've blessed us richly, that you've included us in these covenant promises, that you have become our God, you've made us your people, And Lord, help us to delight, help us to rejoice, and help us to worship and to praise and honor your great and awesome name. And we ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close with a brief time.