Diving In Session 4 Covenant 7 The Davidic Covenant

It’s interesting that, if we didn’t have any other books of the Bible, the Torah/Pentateuch does tell a complete story. We start with Adam and Eve in the garden, expelled because of the Fall, the calling of Abraham and identification of his descendants as God’s Chosen People to lead with world back to God, through their restoration to the Promised Land, which is described in Edenic Terms in Deut. 30:9. Thus completing the cycle!

But – and it’s a big but! – God’s purposes go beyond just blessing the nations through Abraham. They are to create One New Man through the Second Man, the Last Adam, a new people of Jew and Gentile together, jointly inheriting all that God has for mankind. This was a mystery hidden in the Old Testament and “was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.” (fellow with Israel, obviously!)

Now for the Gentile to be fellow-heirs with Israel, Israel has to exist and not be terminated in God’s purposes once the Messiah came! As someone has said:

“one cannot be a joint heir with Israel if Israel is an entity only of the past”

William S. Campbell, “Unity and Diversity in the Church: Transformed Identities and the Peace of Christ in Ephesians,”

“The same thought applies to the identity of God himself. “God is referred to as the ‘God of Israel’ about 200 times in scripture, often in apposition to the Tetragrammaton. Consequently, for Israel to assimilate entirely into the nations is theologically extremely problematic in regards to God’s unchangeable nature”.

David B. Woods, “Jew-Gentile Distinction in the One New Man”

“According to Paul, the reference point for both Jewish and non-Jewish Christians is their relation to the “commonwealth of Israel, the covenants and promises” (Eph. 2:12). You either come to Christ as a member of the commonwealth, covenants, and promises that Israel bears witness to in the world, or as one of those drawn in from groups that were estranged from them, the Gentiles. For these non-Jews, being in Christ brings them into fellow citizenship with Israel in the Story they are bearing witness to—yet without becoming Jews. Gentiles in Christ are co-citizens with Israel, but not co-Israelites, as Woods notes. Indeed they cannot be if God is to remain the God of the nations and not solely become the God of Israel.”

Mark R Saucy “Biblical Zionism: Foundations for a Generous Theology of History” (2019)

Covenantal Trajectory

Davidic Covenant continues the Covenantal trajectory with this ultimate purpose in mind.

• Based on Abrahamic Covenant – the realm and the people of the Kingdom (Gen. 15:18-21; 17:6,16)
• Requires obedience to the Mosaic Covenant – the Law of the Kingdom (Deut. 17:14-20)
• Enables fulfilment of the Land Covenant – the final establishment of the Kingdom with Israel living in peace and safety (Deut. 30:9; Jer. 30:9-10)
• Prepares the way for the New Covenant – focusses the Covenantal line of the Promised Seed to the Descendant of David (Rom. 1:3; Rev. 22:16)

Parallels between David and Abraham:

• God promises both “a great name” (Gen. 12:2; 2 Sam. 7:9).
• In the future both will conquer their enemies (Gen. 22:17; 2 Sam. 7:11; cf. Ps. 89:23);
• Both have a special divine-human relationship (Gen. 17:7-8; 2 Sam. 7:24; cf. Ps. 89:26).
• A special line of “seed” perpetuates both of their names (Gen. 21:12; 2 Sam. 7:12-16).
• The descendants of both must keep God’s laws (Gen. 18:19; 2 Sam. 7:14; cf. Psa. 89:30-32; 132:12).
• The offspring of both would mediate international blessing (Gen. 22:18; Ps. 72:17).

Context for the Davidic Covenant

The context is both the Abrahamic and Land Covenants. But also God’s purposes for Israel have an eschatological fulfilment, for which the Davidic Covenant is fundamental. Is going too far to say, that without Israel there is no eschaton? Without the Davidic Covenant, the Abrahamic and Land Covenants cannot be fulfilled? (See Jer. 33:20-26)

God has tied His Covenants with Israel and David to the duration of His covenant with day and night, and with the ordinances of the sun and moon, i.e. as long as the earth lasts. The dissolution of the creation marks the end of the eschaton – the end of all things – and God has covenanted that Israel will exist right until then.

Theologies that spiritualise or allegorise Israel out of existence tend to have no concrete views of the End Times, or take the prophecies of the end as already having been fulfilled.

• A-Millennialism sees the current age as enduring for who-knows-how-long and then the return of the Lord ends everything. Proponents of this theology, like R C Sproul, tend to view AD70 as the culmination of the Day of the Lord and Israel ceases to be a nation at that point. We are now living in ‘the new heavens and the new earth’, i.e. the Church. Jesus’ return at the end of time preceded by a time of severe rebellion and persecution
• Post-Millennialism sees the Church as the agent to bring about the eschaton, by converting the world and its systems. There is no place for Israel as a people or a land in this scheme. The Church rules the world during the Millennium and only invites Jesus back in order to present Him with the Kingdom that we have created! Again, everything is wrapped up in that one event.

These are most unsatisfactory as there is no place for :

• Removal of the outward manifestation of sin in this creation and leaves God’s purposes thwarted and only realised in another, heavenly or spiritual, sphere
• Vindication of Christ in the world that He created and maintains – that rejected Him (Col. 1:17; Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 1:2; 1 Cor. 1:21)
• Reconciliation of all things (Col. 1:20; Acts 3:19-21)
• Vindication of God’s promises to Israel  – not for their sake, but for His Name’s sake (Ezek.36:32; if fulfilled in the Church, would the world recognise it?)
• Vindication of God’s promise to bless the world through Abraham – fulfilled in Christ, but there is more! Rom 11:12,15 their fullness = life from the dead – resurrection!
• The fact that the New Covenant was made with the Houses of Israel and Judah Jer. 31:31 in context of descendants of Israel never ceasing to be a nation

The Abrahamic Covenant promised

• Abraham would become a great nation
• The nation set apart by God from the nations, to be a blessing to the nations
• A territory in perpetuity for the descendants of Abraham

Mosaic Covenant given so that the Lord could perform what He had sworn to give the Fathers (Jer. 11:5 – NB covenant language in verse 4, “You shall be My people and I will be your God”) to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.

The Land Covenant promised

• Residence in the Land, subject to obedience to the Mosaic Covenant
• Ultimate restoration to the Land
• Ultimate regeneration of the people
• Dwelling in the Land in peace and prosperity

Hopefully, we’ll see as we go through how these promises are fulfilled in, or enabled by, the Covenant God makes with David. This development comes through Nathan’s oracle to David (2 Sam. 7; 1 Chron. 17). David intends to build a house (i.e. the temple) for God, but God promises to build him a house (i.e. a dynasty) for David.

Is it a Covenant? Witnesses!

Neither 2 Samuel 7 nor 1 Chronicles 17 explicitly describes this promise as a “covenant,” but several other texts do:

• This is what the LORD says Jer. 33:20-21 If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that day and night cease to occupy their appointed time, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant and with My ministers the Levites who are priests, so that David will not have a son to reign on his throne.
• David in 2 Sam. 23:5 For He made an everlasting covenant with me, ordered and secured in all things.
• Solomon in 2 Chr. 7:17-18 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, doing all that I have commanded you, keeping My statutes and My ordinances, then I will establish your royal throne as I covenanted with your father David saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.’
• Ethan the Ezrahite Ps. 89:3-4 You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant: ‘I will establish your offspring forever and build up your throne for all generations.’” (also Psa. 132:11 The LORD swore an oath to David)
• The prophet Adonijah 2 Chr. 13:5 Don’t you know that Adonai, God of Israel, has given kingship over Israel to David forever—to him and his sons by a covenant of salt?

Discussion of relevant Scriptures

First record 2 Samuel 7:11-16 Points to Solomon (noting the slight differences between verses 14-16 in this passage and the parallel passage in 1 Chron. 17:14-15) The second account is found in I Chronicles 17:11-14 points to Messiah

Covenant Structure, Ratification, and Theology

We discussed the structure and details of the Davidic Covenant. A question was raised about the ratification of this covenant through blood, as all other covenants were. We noted that there were no direct references to sacrifice within the covenant’s terms, but emphasized the significance of Jesus’ sacrifice as the new covenant. The conversation also touched on the theological implications of David’s throne in heaven and the future restoration of all things.

We discussed the parallelism in the Hebrew text between ‘house’ and ‘kingdom’, emphasizing that they refer to the same concept. We emphasized that the word ‘house’ in these passages refers not to a physical building, but to David’s dynasty or lineage. We also pointed out that the ‘seed’ referred to in these passages could signify a collective minimum of posterity.

We noted the differences in wording between the book of Samuel and Chronicles, suggesting that the latter may offer a Messianic interpretation. We stressed the role of a shepherd in protecting the flock, suggesting that David was a figurehead who fulfilled this role.

Temple Construction and Tabernacle Details

We delved into the nuances of the biblical story of the construction of the temple by Solomon. We emphasized that while the temple was built by human hands, it was based on God’s design and had specific details that mirrored the tabernacle in the wilderness. We suggested that the temple was not entirely God’s idea and that its construction involved human artistry and design. We also highlighted that the temple was eventually replaced by a larger, more intricate version, but the tabernacle remained the prototype.

Comparison of Temple and Tabernacle

We looked at the difference between the temple and the tabernacle in the context of biblical history. We also pointed out that Jesus described himself as tabernacling with humanity for 33 years and that believers are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit,

Land Covenant and Shepherd’s Role

We also pointed out the importance of the land covenant, which is often overlooked, but is significant from both dispensational and God’s perspective. We noted that the Land Covenant is particularly relevant at present, given recent events in the land of Israel. The Land Covenant forms the foundation of the Davidic Covenant in terms of the Israelites living in the Land.

Jerusalem’s Strategic Position and Divine Significance

We noted that, despite its inhospitable location without a reliable water supply or fertile land, and strategic insignificance, Jerusalem has been attacked and besieged more times than any other city in history due to its central role in God’s plan. We mentioned that the city is considered the “apple of God’s eye”. We also highlighted that Jerusalem’s geography forms the shape of the Hebrew letter Shin, which represents one of God’s names, further emphasizing its divine significance.

Challenges to the Davidic Covenant

1. It’s been fulfilled in Christ at His First Coming and Ascension to God’s right hand

Some have proposed that Christ is fulfilling these promises now (during this age, before His Second Coming) in His present rule over the church or human hearts as He sits at God’s right hand on the throne of God in heaven. According to this view, the kingdom over which Christ rules in fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant is solely a spiritual kingdom, and the throne of David is the throne of God in heaven.

Others believe that Christ will fulfill these promises in eternity future after the present earth has been destroyed at His Second Coming. According to this view, the future Kingdom of God foretold in the Bible, over which Christ is to rule, will never be a reality during the present earth’s existence. It should be noted that these two views agree that Christ will never reign over a literal, earthly, political kingdom on the present earth.

By contrast, a third view asserts that Christ will fulfill these promises in the future when He returns to earth in His Second Coming and establishes and reigns over a literal, earthly, political kingdom for a thousand years on this present earth and for eternity on the new eternal earth.

https://israelmyglory.org/article/the-davidic-covenant/

The idea that Jesus is currently seated on His throne as the fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant is based on 1 Chron. 29:23 where Solomon is said to have ‘sat on the throne of the Lord as king’, so the throne of David and the throne of the Lord are seen to be one and the same. But God’s throne is eternal (Psa. 93:1-2) and didn’t commence with David! It also ignores Rev. 3:21 where Jesus distinguishes between His throne and the throne of His Father.

The throne mentioned in 1 Chron. 29:23 is specifically said to be the throne of David in the second half of the verse. Jesus is certainly enthroned now, but on His Father’s throne at His right hand (Mark 16:19; Heb. 12:2), waiting to ascend to His Own Throne in the Messianic Kingdom (Psa. 110:1; cf. Acts 2:30-36 where Peter contrasts the throne of David with the throne Jesus currently occupies).

We also have to ask why Jesus calls Himself “the Root and Offspring of David” in Rev. 22:16 in the context of His Coming Again (in the next verse, the Spirit and the Bride say come in response to this statement!) if it is not that when He comes again, He will be installed as King (Psa. 2:6) in fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant and the Bride is longing to see her Bridegroom take His rightful place as King of all the earth (Zech. 14:9) reigning from Jerusalem (Isa. 2:3)

2. “Write this man childless” – the tent of David fallen down!

We need to consider how the right is conferred to Yeshua as the kingly line seems to be broken by the Lord Himself with Jeconiah in Jer. 22:30 ‘This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”’

The meaning of the prediction, as explained by the latter clause of the verse, was fulfilled in Jeconiah’s being the last kingly representative of the house of David, his uncle Zedekiah, who succeeded him, perishing before him (Jeremiah 52:31). In him the sceptre departed, and not even Zerubbabel sat upon the throne of Judah.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers accessed from biblehub.com

It therefore appears that the Davidic Covenant had lapsed! But David had other sons as well as Solomon and Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy back to Nathan, another son of David and Bathsheba (NB not the prophet Nathan). If we compare the genealogy in Matthew, we see that the lines crossed between the Captivity and the Return from Babylon. On Matt. 1:12 Shealtiel is said to be son of Jeconiah (1 Chron. 3:17).

In these genealogies, however, adoption or succession, or a Levirate marriage so constantly takes the place of parentage, that nothing certain can be inferred from these data, and Luke 3:27 places Shealtiel among the descendants of Nathan, as though the line of Solomon became extinct in Jeconiah, and was replaced by the collateral branch of the house of David.

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

Matthew’s genealogy is commonly understood to be Joseph’s line, and that Luke records the genealogy of Mary. Joseph is not stated to be the ‘son of’ Heli, but just ‘of Heli’, which would be the case as husband of Mary (and maybe adopted by him) as women were not usually listed in the line of descent in genealogies.

“Hence it appears that Matthew, who wrote principally for the Jews, traces the pedigree of Jesus Christ from Abraham, through whom the promises were given to the Jews, to David, and from David, through the line of Solomon, to Jacob the father of Joseph, the reputed or legal father of Christ; and that Luke, who wrote for the Gentiles, extends his genealogy upwards from Heli, the father of Mary, through the line of Nathan, to David, and from David to Abraham, and from Abraham to Adam, who was the immediate “son of God” by creation, and to whom the promise of the Saviour was given in behalf of himself and all his posterity.

The two branches of descent from David, by Solomon and Nathan, being thus united in the persons of Mary and Joseph, Jesus the son of Mary re-united in himself all the blood, privileges, and rights, of the whole family of David; in consequence of which he is emphatically called “the Son of David.”

Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge Published in 1834; public domain.

We need to point out, that this is what is meant by Acts 15:16 “rebuilding the fallen tent of David” quoting Amos 9:11 (where the word is sukkah – a booth, a shelter – not a place of worship, which is mishkan). This is confirmed in Isa. 16:5 where the prophet says “A throne will be established in mercy, and One will sit on it in truth—in the tent (ohel – a covering) of David”.

Next week. we will consider the fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant in history and in the future.