When thy days are fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, that shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: if he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men; but my lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. (2 Sam 7:12–16 ASV)
Today’s Reading: 2 Sam 7:1–16
The Davidic Covenant
We have moved forwards in the narrative by approximately 700 years and we discover yet another covenant. Initially the rule of the nation was centred in the tribe of Benjamin in the person of Saul, but the prophecy of Jacob was fulfilled and the sceptre passed to the house of Judah. This was more than just the fulfilling of a promise; it established a personal covenant between Jehovah/Yahweh and David.
I will sing of the lovingkindness of Jehovah for ever: With my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever; Thy faithfulness wilt thou establish in the very heavens. I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant: Thy seed will I establish for ever, And build up thy throne to all generations. (Ps 89:1–4 ASV)
The immediate, short-term, partial fulfilment of this word was to be realised in Solomon, David’s son. At the time of making the covenant Solomon did not even exist, being born at least 15-16 years afterwards. Perhaps David thought Amnon, his son by Ahinoam, a Jezreelitess, was ‘the seed.’ If so, he was mistaken. The immediate fulfilment was found in Solomon whose name means Peaceable. Are we beginning to join up the dots? The Peace-Maker of Jacob’s prophecy finds its fulfilment in Solomon, the Peaceable.
Solomon’s reign began wonderfully but Solomon’s personal life slid into idolatry, and God’s judgment was re-scheduled for the generation of Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. From Rehoboam’s time the Davidic dynasty remained in power but its star waxed and waned and was finally extinguished by the Babylonians acting as God’s agents of retribution.
Misinterpreted prophecies
The solid promises of Jehovah/Yahweh had been misinterpreted during the time of the final overthrow of the Davidic line. The book of Jeremiah gives a startling insight into rival schools of prophecy. One school said ‘God has said it, it must be.’ They were sure that although chastening might come, the Davidic dynasty would survive, and that any exile would only be brief. Jeremiah, to the contrary, declared the conditional aspect of covenant and declared that their confidence was misplaced and that the Babylonian rulers were the agents of God’s punishments. The nation refused to repent and the words of the prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, were vindicated.
A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee; and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and a third part I will scatter unto all the winds, and will draw out a sword after them. (Ezek 5:12 ASV)
And the nation, and its Davidic dynasty, and its priests passed into exile. Jerusalem and its glorious Temple were left in ruins.
O God, the nations are come into thine inheritance; thy holy temple have they defiled; they laid Jerusalem in heaps. (Ps 79:1)
Some 70 years later a tiny remnant of the nation of Judah was restored to their land. They rebuilt their city and their temple but never rebuilt their monarchy. During the years in between our Old and New Testaments the Maccabees reintroduced a monarchy but their king was from the tribe of Levi not Judah. Then came the Romans and the land was divided into various administrative areas. The Romans established another monarch, but this time he was not even a descendant of Jacob; Herod the Great was an Idumean. So the scholars had to reexamine their source documents. The Davidic dynasty was broken. The royal line, however, can still be traced in the gospel according to Matthew. The broken Davidic dynasty ends in Matthew 1:11 and the next 12 generations never reigned.
Wider than the nation of Israel
The dynastic genealogy is recorded because the ‘sure covenant faithfulness’ of God is sure and God is its guarantor, but it was not to be fulfilled in the way the contemporaries of Jeremiah had interpreted it. God’s word to David had been a prophetic utterance and we saw in the previous blog that God’s perspective is more complex than human perspective. Did this refer to Solomon? Yes. I think it did, but not only to Solomon. There was a short term, temporary, partial, fulfilment in the person of Solomon but the initial reference to ‘thy seed after thee’ has more than Solomon in its compass. God’s covenant promise is another link in the chain of revelation. The promised seed would be born of a woman, and would be a descendant of Abraham, and be a descendant of Judah… and a descendant of David. Each prediction that is added narrows the focus and increases the probabilities against any accidental fulfillments. The probabilities of just 8 of these prophecies happening have been calculated. (Not by me!)
This gives us 1 in 2.8 X 10 to the twenty-eighth power. Let us simplify it by calling it 1 X 10 to the twenty-eighth power. Written out we have 1 in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000.
Progressive revelation
As we follow the Seed we are adding greater detail to the picture. This is an acknowledged aspect of Biblical revelation. By revelation, I mean things that could not be deduced by human agency but which are direct truth revealed to the various writers of the scriptures. This is known as ‘progressive revelation.’ It is an accepted methodology for teaching (and preaching). Younger preachers have a reputation for trying to get everything into their early sermons. Some older preachers suffer the same impediment. Revelation is based, partially, on the receptivity of the hearer. The receptivity of the hearer is conditioned by a lifetime of earlier responses to truth. To use the Bible image we ‘add our seal to it that God is true’ (John 3:33). That is to say, not only must we hear the truth audibly but we also need to embrace the truth we hear. If there is no engagement with the truth it deadens us to subsequent truth. If we embrace the truth it prepares us to embrace the next truth.
‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. (John 16:12 NKJV)
I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able.’ (1 Cor 3:2 NKJV)
And so the revelation grows…
For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, there a little. (Isa 28:10 ASV)
Brighter and brighter, clearer and clearer.
Originally posted 2020-12-16 08:00:57.
