Understanding the Promise (Part 3 of 4)

Music Playing Well, we turn again to 2 Samuel 7 and verse 8.

We'll read once again from the eighth verse to the seventeenth and to Samuel 7 and verse 8. Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David, Thus says the LORD of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I'll appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel.

And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall 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 to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of man, with the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.

In accordance with all these words and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. Amen. Well, Lord, we come to you now before your holy Word. We come as children.

We come small. We come needy. We come asking for the help of the Holy Spirit to see your Word unfolded for us in such a way that we understand the central emphasis that this passage contains. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. The title that I gave to this morning's study and again to this evening is simply Understanding the Promise. We perhaps should have given it the title Trying to Understand the Promise, but actually, the promise is very straightforward and very, very clear.

Any confusion is of our own making. And we come to this, as we said at the tail end of the morning hour, after David's proposal to build a place for the ark, the response of God to say, No, my perspective is a different perspective. This will actually fall to one of your heirs to do.

You will not do this. And furthermore, I will make a house for your name, for my name, for you. And so it is to that promise that we come. And it breaks out for us, I think, we can see it in immediate terms and then, if you like, in ultimate terms. So, initially, from verse 8 on, the way in which this promise will be fulfilled during David's lifetime, and then, subsequently, the way that this promise will be fulfilled after David's death. And part of the challenge in tackling this section is the way in which the material is telescoped. And every so often, if we take hold of the telescope and we are holding it the wrong way round, we'll get ourselves in greater difficulty.

I hope that we won't do that. So, first of all, then, very straightforwardly, the promise is there, This is what you shall say to my servant David. And then what we saw this morning, I took you to make you, I provided for you, I protected you. And now I want you to know that I will make for you a great name.

A great name. And, of course, it goes on to say, A great name like the name of the great ones of the earth. And none to this point in biblical history greater than Abraham himself. And indeed, the promise of making a name for David is simply an echo of the promise of God to Abraham himself. And the Lord intended to fulfill his promise to Abraham to make Abraham's name great by making David's name great, and in doing so, making Abraham's name great.

So the two things fold into one another. Now, of course, there is a sense in which the name of David was already great, that people had been singing about his triumph in battle and so on, and the word was on the street that this character David was a significant character, and he had a name that was well spoken. But the whole point of it is simply that the promise not only looks back to Abraham, but the promise ultimately looks forward to the Lord Jesus Christ, at whose name every knee will bow.

So, first of all, then, a name. And then, secondly, a place, so that they may… I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and I will plant them so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. Now, his people are his people Israel, as we see there.

And this, again, is an echo. You get tired of me saying this, but often what is happening is referencing that which is gone before, and particularly a little of what we saw this morning in terms of the Exodus. And I'm just going to quote to you from Exodus 15, and in verse 17, you will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain, the place, O LORD, which you have made for your abode, the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands have established.

And then it says, And the LORD will reign for ever and ever. Now, this verb here, I think, is significant, this planting of them, because way back there in the Exodus, that is the very terminology that is used, that they were to be planted. And in point of fact, they were planted.

Ever since the days of Joshua, they were living in the land. And we would remember that, some of us, from Sunday school. And so the promise of being planted here and of being secure also leads forward from here. In some measure, people could have said, Well, we can look back to that. We can look back to how we went into the land, how entry was through the shedding of the blood of the Lamb. And the liberation from the bondage of Egypt had all taken place, and it was gloriously accomplished. But the promise, once again, is not yet fully accomplished.

And that is what we're constantly dealing with. It is both sending us back to a point of reference, and then it is making it clear to us that there is still more that is to come. The really significant dimension of a place is, of course, because God is present among his people, and he rules among his people by his King. And so, when we look at that—and in that Exodus passage, I think it's helpful that it immediately says, You will bring them in, plant them on the mountain, place them, and so on, in the sanctuary that you have established—which makes it all feel very much like, That's it, that's now, that's done. And then immediately it says, And the LORD will reign forever and forever.

So you get this pulling forward always. And what we need to understand—and it's part of the reason that I fiddled around for a while this morning—is that this place is actually a shadow of the reality that is yet to come. It is a significant place.

There is no doubt about that. But it points us forward to another place, to the ultimate place. And as I said this morning, if we miss that dimension of it, then we will constantly be focused on Jerusalem in the Middle East rather than awaiting for the new Jerusalem to come out of heaven for us, in a new heaven and in a new earth. The hymn writers in earlier eras, irrespective of their view of these things, were always pointing us forward. So I just wrote in my notes an old hymn from my childhood, There's a land that is fairer than day, And by faith we shall see it afar, For our Father waits over the way To prepare us a dwelling place there. And in the sweet by and by We shall meet on that beautiful shore. That the Bible is always pressing us forward, that the communion that we enjoy with those who have actually gone before us, who are in the presence of Jesus now, is a realistic communion, that it is a strange and mysterious reality, but it is nevertheless a reality.

And somehow or another, in the mystery of God's purposes, these things come together. So, there is a place that will be there for a while. They're in the place. It's got a dimension that takes them forward. It doesn't just take them forward for a wee while. It takes them forward into the realm of forever. So, along with that, a name and a place. And in that place, the promise of peace and of security—again, a reminder that the goal is not reached. It's still in the future. And along with that, rest.

You can see it there in the text. I will appoint a place for my people. They won't be besieged by violent men as formerly, from the time I appointed judges, all the chaos in the book of Judges, one minute stepping forward, the next minute being besieged, and so on. And then here's this promise, and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Well, of course, the chapter begins with rest. The very reason it seems that David had this plan to build a house for the ark had to do with the fact that he was enjoying rest. It was the first time he'd really had a rest for a while.

He'd been involved in so many battles and so on. And now here is the promise that there is rest. Well, clearly, again, at the risk of just undue repetition, there is a name, and it is yet coming.

There is a place, and it is yet to be. And there is rest, but it's not the ultimate rest of the people of God to which this points. Now, that's really enough. That's all that needs to be said.

More can be said. The promise of God fulfilled while David is alive is, as stated, a place in which there is peace and rest and a name which will be established. Now, from that point on, it then moves to when David will no longer be around. Verse 12, when your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers. In other words, all that has happened to this point is a precursor.

In some ways, it's the hors d'oeuvre course, before we have the entree. And that's going to come when your days are fulfilled. And when this happens, that is the context in which, back in verse 11, I, the LORD, will make you a house. I will make you a house. Now, the very foundational part of this that we need to note is straightforward—namely, that God's promise to David will not be destroyed by David's death.

All right? Unlike what had happened to Saul, Saul came and was gone. Samuel came and was gone. And their period in the sun, if you like, is now in the past. But in relationship to this promise made to David, God's Son, the King, it will not end with his death. And in fact, it will be accomplished through offspring.

Through offspring. Just the very use of the word offspring, or seed, depending on which translation you're using, should remind us once again of God's promise to Abraham. Because the promise of God to Abraham was, I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, your offspring also can be counted. Now, parenthetically, that's a quite amazing statement, isn't it, when you think about a company that no one can number? When you think about the end of the story in the great evangelistic purpose of God and of his church, the idea that some of us might have on an evening like this is, you know, the numbers are so small, we are apparently so ineffective, we're pushing the ball up the hill against the tidal wave of varieties of religions and isms and so on.

But no, no, no, no, no. The seed of Abraham, the seed of Abraham—if you could count it, you would have to be able to count the dust of the earth. That is amazing, isn't it? It's supposed to amaze us.

I stand amazed at such a thing. And the promise of God to Abraham is then advancing through his promise to David as the king. And again, I say the same thing, who is also enjoying the privileges that Abraham enjoyed, so that as the promise to Abraham advances through the seed of David, so the promise to Abraham is once again being fulfilled. Now, this will happen after he dies, and he will establish it. I will raise up your offspring after you who shall come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom. Now, clearly, this involves, at the surface level, first of all, Solomon who is to come, because we're only going to read on in a couple of chapters, and we'll immediately be there.

So, we understand that. But once again, there is a deeper dimension to the promise. And it will explode the boundaries, if you like, of any physical entity or any geographical place. Because as time passes, this actually outgrows the capacity of any mere human being to actually fulfill it, because it is increasingly becoming larger than life. How is this going to be that so many people will be involved, the security will be such, and so on?

There would have to be a succession through every descendant producing a male heir, or there would need to be a descendant born who would never die. That is the only way it could be accomplished. And, of course, reading from the back, we know that is exactly how it is to be accomplished—that in the Lord Jesus Christ, the promise will be fulfilled. Now, this is the explanation for how he's going to make a house for David.

And again, you need to constantly allow yourself to fall into the text here, where it moves even in the one verse from one point to another. In due course, verse 13, Solomon will build a house for my name. He will build a house for my name. Now, we're familiar with people's names being on houses. I don't know, I haven't been downtown for a while, but is the Hannah building still there?

That was somebody's name, I guess. Some of you have been to the Trump Tower, which we're not going to talk much about. But what is being said here is that the temple that will be built by Solomon has, if you like, God's name on it. It is the place that will be identified as the place of prayer, as the place where the tribes come and gather, as they make their ascent up into Jerusalem and as they say to one another, I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the LORD.

That is what is being referenced here. And that actually is pretty well where it's left. And nothing more is said about that—about that temple—in the rest of the seventh chapter.

And of course, as we know, the temple finally collapsed. But the kingdom that God builds will stand and grow forever. It is an unending kingdom.

And once again, you see that in the space of the one verse. He will build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. Who's the his? Who's the he in these things?

It's not a particular individual. It's the he of the succession of the kings, the one who comes next and comes next and comes next. And as I say, unlike the kingdom of Saul, which was to crumble on account of his disobedience, the kingdom that he will establish for David's offspring will last forever. Now, in the fourteenth verse, in the second half of it, you have this statement that causes some difficulty. How can it be that we can, in the midst of all of this, say, of one of these successive kings, when he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes, and so on?

Well, the fact of the matter is that if you read on, you know that the succession of kings were not faultless by any standards at all. And David himself, within a few chapters, will give evidence of the same. And as we ponder this, we realize that there was only one who would finally be absolutely perfect. And he would be the son of whom the Father says in him, I am well pleased.

Now, what is being said here is simply this. As we go through this program, as kings will come and kings will go, there will be good kings and bad kings, and those who are guilty of disobedience, I will deal with them. That's what the Lord is saying.

I'll deal with them through the human structures of time, it would appear. And in doing that, you should know that I will never, however, reject my promise to the line of David to bring it to fulfillment. So, in other words, in terms of Philippians 1, he who has begun a good work in him will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. The fact that along the journey there will be those who are in need of correction and so on is plain to see. Now, I hope that you can grapple with that.

That's the best I can do with it. What are we to do, though, with the earlier part of the verse 14? I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.

Now, once again, this is where our understanding of what has gone before helps us. And you will recall, I think, that the relationship between the Lord and his people Israel was the relationship of father and son. That just as Israel was God's Son, so now the offspring of David is described in the same way. Now, at least we need to understand this, that God's great promises to Abraham concerning Israel are now being applied to the king of Israel descended from David.

All right? So that the descendants of David as the great king, God's people, will be God's sons, because their king is God's son. You're listening to Bible teacher Alistair Begg on Truth for Life. If you were encouraged by what you heard today about our Promise Keeping God, let me encourage you to request the book we are currently recommending. It's called Covenant Foundations, Understanding the Promise Keeping God of the Bible. This is a book that explores God's covenants throughout the Old Testament and highlights the connection between God's promises and his love for his people. If you are going through a trying time right now, this book will assure you that God's promises are certain.

He is just as faithful today as he was when he established his covenants and you can enjoy a deep sense of peace as you rest in him regardless of your circumstances. Ask for your copy of Covenant Foundations when you donate to Truth for Life today. You can use the mobile app or go online at truthforlife.org slash donate. By the way, our offices are currently closed for Memorial Day as we honor those who have died serving in the United States military. A heartfelt thanks to all you who have courageously served or are currently serving and our deepest sympathies to any who have lost a loved one in military service. Thanks for listening today. Tomorrow we will shift our focus from David's kingdom to a higher throne. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life where the Learning is for Living.