Today
we come to the 5th covenant, the covenant with David represented by
the blue candle.
When
we think of David our thoughts tend to go in either one of two directions. Either we remember that it is from the
Davidic line Yeshua came or we remember his rather flagrant sins. Either is a
simplistic view of an extremely complex man, a man after God’s own heart, a
warrior, a poet, a song~writer, a King, & a Prophet. Yet God promised David far more than simply
that the saviour of the world would come through David’s bloodline.
In 2nd
Samuel 7 we find the specifics of the covenant God made with David. In context David has made Jerusalem his
capital. He has brought the ark of the covenant into the city with sacrifice
& dancing. His wife, Michal, has
mocked him causing a family rift that never healed. Finally, after years of
war, David is able to relax in his palace & give his mind to things other
than how to defeat his enemies ~ & his mind turns to building a house for
the Lord.
Initially
David’s prophet, Nathan, says: Go for it!
But the Lord has other ideas. The temple
will not be built by David, but by his Son, Solomon, the child born out of a
great sin in David’s life. The Lord says no, to the Temple, but He doesn’t end
there.
“Now go and
say to my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies has
declared: I took you from tending sheep in the pasture and selected you to be the leader of my people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have destroyed all your enemies
before your eyes. Now I will make your name as famous as anyone who has ever
lived on the earth! And I will provide a homeland for my people Israel,
planting them in a secure place where they will never be disturbed. Evil
nations won’t oppress them as they’ve done in the past, starting from the
time I appointed judges to rule my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.
“‘Furthermore,
the LORD declares
that he will make a house for you—a
dynasty of kings! For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I
will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his
kingdom strong. He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my
name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. I will be his father,
and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the
rod, like any father would do. But my favour will not be taken from him
as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. Your house and
your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever.’”
2 Samuel 7:8~16
There are
people who will tell you there is only one way to read your bible & that is
literally. I disagree. To do that is to fossilise the Living Word of
God so that it can only ever be understood in one way & when we do that we
stifle the Word that wants to speak to us about our lives, our situation, our
heart before God. We are told that all
of scripture is applicable to us [2 Timothy 3:16] & God breathed. Remember, the scriptures Paul was referring
to was the Old Testament, so the Old Testament is more than a dull history
lesson.
When we read
the covenant God made with David, we understand that these verses are useful
for teaching us, rebuking us, correcting us, training us, & so
they may be understood @ multiple levels @ once. The first level is what God was saying about
David’s house. The second level is prophetic
in nature regarding the promised
Messiah, & the third level is what the scripture is prophesying to us.
Last week I
gave you the Carl Lentz critea for discerning what of the Old Testament we
should keep: everything comes to the cross.
Only what comes forward through the cross is eternal. There are things that were only for the Old
Testament, only for the Jews, only for a particular time & place, but
because the bible is the Living Word, & that Word is Jesus Himself, much
comes forward that is still applicable to us & still God’s confirmed
covenant promise.
So, what
comes forward? I will highlight what was
highlighted to me as I read through these verses:
·
I
selected you
Ephesians 1:4
Even
before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and
without fault in his eyes.
·
Romans 8:29
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become
conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many
brethren;
·
2 Thessalonians 2:13
…God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through
sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.
Somewhere
outside of what we call Time, God foreknew us, & chose us, & called us
to Himself. That is a very wonderful
thing.
·
I
have been with you…
·
Matthew 28:20
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.
·
Hebrews 13:5~6
[Let your] conversation [be] without
covetousness; [and be] content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
· Romans 8:38 ~ one of the greatest
texts in scripture:
And I am convinced that nothing can ever
separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers
of hell can separate us from God's love.
· I have
destroyed all your enemies…And I will give you rest from your enemies
· Romans 8:31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is
for us, who is against us?
· Luke 10:19
"Behold,
I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the
power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.
· Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
· He will make
a house for you…
· John 14:2
"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it
were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.
· Revelation
3:12
All who are victorious will become pillars in
the Temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. And I will write on
them the name of my God, and they will be citizens in the city of my God--the
new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven from my God. And I will also write on
them my new name.
· Mark 11:17
Then He began to teach them and declare, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
Then He began to teach them and declare, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
Your throne will be secure forever…
We know that we are seated with
Jesus in heavenly places but what I want to highlight is how this idea of
security is brought forward into the N.T.
Psalm 91:1 states “He that
dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall
abide under the shadow of the Almighty”
There are 2 ideas here. The first
is the name used for God, El Elyon.
Usually translated most high, it refers to the ascended one. There is
only one person that could mean: Christ. The one who abides in Christ, abides
in the place of Ascension with the Most High.
The second idea is in the word
abide, meaning to lodge or sleep, which connects it with death &
resurrection. Thus, the idea is that
those who dwell in Christ are shielded by His presence & covered by His
blood.
John 6:37 All that
the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will
certainly not cast out.
· John 6:39
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all those He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day.
· John 10:28
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
As we consider the covenant
promises made to David we remember that Moses, Abraham, David were looking for
the promised Messiah. Their faith &
their relationship with God were profoundly different to the people around them
for they understood their redemption was not in the Law, Torah, but in the one
who would fulfil the Torah perfectly.
Jesus, Himself,
confirmed this to the Pharisees: "Your
father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad." John
8:56. The only acceptable sacrifice for sin was Christ. The temple sacrifices ended @ the cross &
are not brought forward because Jesus became the perfect temple sacrifice,
& having died & risen again, he became our High Priest.
The 5th covenant is the
midway point of Hanukkah. From this point on everything changes because God
comes in the flesh & establishes a completely new covenant with better
promises, which we will look @ next week when we come to the covenant of
Redemption.
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