2 Samuel 7:8-12, 16 (NIV) 8“Now then, tell my servant David, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I took you from the pasture, from tending the flock, and appointed you ruler over my people Israel. 9I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make your name great, like the names of the greatest men on earth. 10And I will provide a place for my people Israel and will plant them so that they can have a home of their own and no longer be disturbed. Wicked people will not oppress them anymore, as they did at the beginning 11and have done ever since the time I appointed leaders over my people Israel. I will also give you rest from all your enemies. “ ‘The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you: 12When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. ... 16Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”
David is a familiar character in the Bible. We know a lot about David because David is a very important part of God’s great redemptive plan. In our passage today, we read that God makes a covenant with David, focusing on his kingly lineage. God tells David that, “I will make you a house,” meaning that God is going to make David a ruling dynasty. Verse 16 clarifies this by adding, “your kingdom” and “your throne;” however, tucked away in this covenant with David is a little clue about what God is up to. In verse 12, God tells David that, “I will raise up your offspring…and I will establish his kingdom.”
Like most covenants and prophecies in the Bible there is an immediate fulfillment – David’s son, Solomon – but there is also an ultimate fulfillment – the King Jesus.
King David had an earthly reign over a small nation of people, but when Jesus was born He started His spiritual reign. The angel Gabriel told Mary about the baby, Jesus, who would be growing in her womb, that “the Lord God will give to 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.”
As our memory verse for today tells us, in order to enter into the kingdom of God, we need to repent of our sins and believe in the gospel. Take time today to ask God to forgive you of the ways you have disobeyed Him and neglected His rightful rule over your life, and remember the gospel: Jesus lived the perfect life you cannot live, died to pay the penalty of your sins in your place, and then rose again so that you can enter into His Kingdom.
Memory Verse: Mark 1:15 (NIV)
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”