David’s Throne

(Sermon Notes)  By Warren Zehrung  8/7/2021

Our God is a God of covenants and promises.  Let’s begin by reviewing a few of God’s covenants.

Genesis 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, [Ur of the Chaldees], and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 

Genesis 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 

Genesis 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that cursed thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

Genesis 12: And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there built he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. 

The word translated as “seed” is also rendered “child” or “posterity.”  In the Hebrew, seed is indefinite here.  It is a collective noun – like sheep of fish.  A fish, or all the fish in the oceans – same word.  A sheep, or lots of sheep.  Its singularity or plurality can only be determined from the context.  Paul clarifies the matter for us:

Galatians 3:16  Now to Abraham and his seed [singular] were the promises made.  He saith not, And to seeds, [plural] as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. 

In Galatians 3:16  Paul was harkening back to Genesis 21:12:

Genesis 21:12  And God said unto Abraham,… for in Isaac shall thy seed [singular] be called. [it shall be called – singular]

Jesus lineage came through Isaac.  Do not get lost in the verbiage of the verse:  (whole verse – note the last part)

Genesis 21:12  And God said unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be called

A most important covenant was a unilateral and unconditional Sacrificial Covenant that Abram witnessed in Genesis 15 showing that all nations on earth would be blessed physically and spiritually through Abram.  

God’s Covenant with Abram

Genesis 15:1  After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. 

Genesis 15:2  And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? 

Genesis 15:3  And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. 

Genesis 15:4  And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. 

Genesis 15:5  And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. 

Genesis 15:6  And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

Brethren, we too, believe God

His covenants give us confidence and reassure us of His faithfulness to us.

As we delve into the blessed life of David in today’s sermon, let’s remember that, we too, are God’s Children –  with all the remarkable blessings and interventions that go along with being a Child of God.

God is working out extraordinary things in our lives that we cannot imagine – in order to bring His Plan to fruition.

Genesis 15:7  And he said unto him, I am the LORD that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees, to give thee this land to inherit it.

Genesis 15:13  And [God] said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years; 

Genesis 15:14  And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come out with great substance. 

Genesis 15:18  In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 

Abraham and the Covenant of Circumcision

Genesis 17:1  And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 

Genesis 17:2  And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. 

Genesis 17:3  And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying, 

Genesis 17:4  As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. 

Genesis 17:5  Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. 

Genesis 17:6  And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. 

Covenants are very important to God!  Later, when God established the covenant with the nation of Israel, He established that He, Himself was King. Israel was to have no other king other than God.  When God made a covenant with David, it was in many ways a continuation of the covenant with Abraham.

Genesis 17:7  And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed [plural] after thee. 

The Sacrifice of Isaac

Genesis 22:1  And it came to pass after these things, that God did test Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 

Genesis 22:2  And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 

Genesis 22:16  And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 

Genesis 22:17  That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 

Genesis 22:18  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. [see also, Genesis 28:14; John 7:42; Romans 1:3]

Brethren, it was not God’s intention to have King Saul rule over His people.

The people decided that for themselves.

Let me ask you this question:  Who was the first King of Israel.  Not Saul!

1Samuel 8:7  And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee [Samuel], but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. 

1Samuel 10:19  And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes, and by your thousands. 

1Samuel 12:12  And when ye saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, ye said unto me, Nay; but a king shall reign over us: when the LORD your God was your king

God was King of Israel

1Samuel 13:14  But now thy [Saul’s] kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. 

Judges 8:23  And Gideon [a man of God, a Judge of Israel – possibly the greatest of all the 15 judges] said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you

Yes, all the earth is blessed through Abraham and his descendants – but so much more so through the promised seed—Jesus Christ.

Saul fails as king, and God begins to transfer rulership to King David:

2Samuel 3:10  To translate the kingdom from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan even to Beersheba.

God refers to David as “My Servant!”

2Samuel 3:18  Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies. 

One of the Psalms has this rendition:

Psalm 78:70  [God] chose David also his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds: 

Psalm 78:71  From following the ewes great with young he brought him to feed Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. 

Psalm 78:72  So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands. 

Why was there a need for the Davidic Covenant?  There was something so special in God’s assessment of young David that He said, “I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart.” 

God has such a love for David that He made him His firstborn, with all the blessings and privileges that entails (Psalm 89:27).  David was chosen by God in his youth.

1Samuel 16:1  And the LORD said unto Samuel, How long wilt thou mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? fill thine horn with oil, and go, I will send thee to Jesse the Bethlehemite: for I have provided me a king among his sons. 

1Samuel 16:6  And it came to pass, when they were come, that he looked on Eliab [Jesse’s firstborn son], and said, Surely the LORD’S anointed is before him. 

1Samuel 16:7  But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.

One by one, each son of Jesse was rejected by God.

1Samuel 16:10  Again, Jesse [That is David’s father] made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel.  And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. 

1Samuel 16:11  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remains yet the youngest, and, behold, he keeps the sheep.  And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. 

God loved David from his youth.  It was not just after he repented vigorously, heartily and enthusiastically after his sin with Bathsheba and Uriah.

1Samuel 16:12  And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. 

We find the first anointing of David:

1Samuel 16:13  Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed [David] in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

[See David anointed king over Israel in 2Samuel 5:3-4]  

In the Latter Days After the Tribulation

Hosea 3:5  Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; [a resurrected King David] and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.

Brethren – that time is coming soon.

The Davidic Covenant has far reaching implications.  We find in the latter days and in the Millennium

Jeremiah 23:5  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King [Jesus Christ] shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 

The word, Branch, is a reference to the Messiah.  David is the root of Jesse from whom descendants would come – ultimately, Jesus Christ.

Jeremiah 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jeremiah 23:7  Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Jeremiah 23:8  But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

The Lord’s Eternal Covenant with David

Jeremiah 33:14  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 

Speaking of Jesus Christ, the Messiah coming from the lineage of David:

Jeremiah 33:15  In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he [Jesus Christ] shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 

Jeremiah 33:16  In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.  

Not our own righteousness by any means… We saw The LORD our righteousness in Jeremiah 23.

Jeremiah 33:17  For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 

Jeremiah 33:18  Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. 

Jeremiah 33:19  And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, 

Jeremiah 33:20  Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season; 

Jeremiah 33:21  Then may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 

Jeremiah 33:22  As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me. 

This promise is seen in:

2Samuel 7:10,  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.

2Samuel 7:12  And when thy days [David] be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his [Solomon’s] kingdom

The Big Promise

Through Nathan the prophet, the LORD revealed that David’s son, Solomon, would build the Temple:

2Samuel 7:13-14  He [Solomon] shall build an house [The Temple] for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his father, and he [Solomon] shall be my son.  If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 

2Samuel 7:15-17  But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.  And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established forever.  According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David. 

God promises that the Messiah will come from the lineage of David and He will establish the Kingdom of God on earth – at Jerusalem – from which He, Jesus Christ, will reign.  But, God does not allow David to build His Temple:  Solomon receives that privilege.

1Chronicals 28:3  But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house [ the Temple] for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood

1Chronicals 28:4  Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before all the house of my father to be king over Israel forever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over all Israel: 

1Chronicals 28:5  And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 

David’s lineage carries over into the New Testament

Luke 1:30  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. 

Luke 1:31  Behold, thou [Mary] shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 

Luke 1:32  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God [the Father] shall give unto Him the throne of His father David

Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of David’s Dynasty—Kingdom of the House of David—son of David!  The Davidic Covenant is an unconditional covenant made between God and David through which God promises David and Israel that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and would establish the Kingdom that would endure forever. 

What began as a promise that David’s son Solomon would be blessed and build the Temple turns into something different—the promise of an everlasting kingdom wherein Jesus Christ will reign.

Son of David

Matthew 21:9  And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David:  Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 

There are no conditions of obedience upon the Davidic Covenant’s fulfillment because God had unilaterally made up His mind it would be so.

Acts 2:29  Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day. 

Acts 2:30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him [the Davidic Covenant], that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, He would raise up Christ—God would raise up the Messiah to sit on [David’s] throne.

While we are in the Book of Acts:  There was something very special going on in that God knew before the Prophet Samuel arrived at Jesse’s home that young David was a man after His own heart.  Shouldn’t we, brethren, be endeavoring and praying with all our might to be people of God’s own heart?

Acts 13:22  And when [God] had removed [King Saul], he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will. 

Having the attributes of God:  Mercy, forgiveness, love, compassion, righteousness, patience, generosity, care, encouragement, faithfulness …  Every characteristic of Jesus must be in our minds and in our hearts, replacing all the sinful and wrong thought patterns which once defined us.  The complete list of attributes of God’s Spirit are beyond the grasp of our finite minds.

Acts 13:23  Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise [the Davidic Covenant], raised unto Israel a Savior, Jesus:

The Messiah will come from the lineage of David and He will establish the Kingdom of God on earth – at Jerusalem – from which He, Jesus Christ, will reign. 

The Davidic Covenant is the covenant wherein God promised a lineage of the descendant of David to reign on the throne over Israel. 

It is a continuation of the earlier covenants God made to Abram and Abraham, in that it promises a Davidic king as the figure through whom God would secure the promises of land, descendants, and blessings – up to and including the Messiah (2Samuel 7).

So, the question arises as to whom will rule over Israel in the Millennium, David or Christ?  Will Jesus rule Israel, or will the resurrected King David? 

In the Millennium King David will serve under Christ, as we all will.  It is an eternal relationship.  David will never usurp Christ’s authority!

Hebrews 1:3  Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of His person [God the Father], and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Hebrews 1:8  But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of thy kingdom.

The Kingdom of God established and administered by Jesus Christ on earth, will consist of five essential elements:

  1. A King – the all Glorious Jesus Christ, King of Kings, will rule over all.
  2. A Seat of Authority – the Dynastic Throne of David in Jerusalem (Hebrews 12:22, Psalm 48:8, Revelation 3:12).
  3. A Territory – beginning in the Promised Land, the domain of rulership is the entire earth.
  4. Laws of the Realm – the Ten Commandments and the word of God.
  5. Subjects – the remnant Israelites and their servants (Isaiah 14:1-3).

Rulership, leadership and authority in the world tomorrow will be by tried and tested men of faith and conversion: (MA p. 332)  They will be experienced and qualified – by God’s qualifications.  They will be placed in service by God Himself.

In the Millennium, David will serve as the King over the literal descendants of the twelve great nations grown large from the surviving tribes of the Tribulation. 

The first inhabitants of the Millennial Kingdom will be the surviving remnant of the Great Tribulation.

The soon coming World War will see so many of our young men and women carried away captive into all parts of the world – but an elect remnant will survive and be spared the worst horrors – to become New Israel

Beginning after the Tribulation, in the world tomorrow, there will be a small remnant of physical people who will multiply and fill the earth once again.

In the Millennium, twelve remnants of Israel, twelve thousand of each tribe, will return to the land of Canaan and begin to repopulate the Promised Land: (Revelation 7:5-8).

Through the Prophet Jeremiah, God prophesies that Israel and Judah will yet again go into captivity and Tribulation – and after that has run its course, a surviving remnant will return to the Promised Land:

Jeremiah 30:3  Lo, the days come, says the LORD, that I will bring [back to the promised land] again those of the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, says the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers [Holy Land], and they shall possess it.

Jeremiah 30:9 They shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up [resurrected] unto them.

We see clearly that King David will be ruling a physical New Israel in the world tomorrow. 

David will be very much a ‘hands-on’ ruler, but he will not be the ultimate King—Who will be Jesus Christ.  David will like all the resurrected saints, and be forever subject to his Lord and Master—Jesus Christ.  Ezekiel answers the question, “Whom will rule over Israel in the Millennium, David or Christ? 

Ezekiel 34:23  I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 

Ezekiel 34:24  And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a Prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.

David is referred to as a Prince here in deference to Jesus Christ who is Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 17:14).

Ezekiel 37:21  And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, wherever they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: 

Ezekiel 37:22  And I will make them one nation [New Israel] in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: …

Ezekiel 37:23  …so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.  

Jesus Christ, who is Lord of lords and King of kings, will be their God.  But, notice also:

Ezekiel 37:24  And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my [God’s] judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. 

Ezekiel 37:25  And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children forever: and my servant David shall be their prince forever

Even in the spiritual realm of the world tomorrow, David will be a faithful servant to His lord and Master, Jesus Christ, as we will all be.

Revelation 5:13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him [Jesus Christ] that sits upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

This concept of Jesus being a son of David is so important to God that it is carried over into the New Heavens and New Earth when Jesus shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father in the Day of God (1Coritnians 15:24, 2Peter 3:12).

Revelation 22:16  I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches.  I am the root and the offspring of David… 

David continually turned to God and trusted in Him.  God promised David a descendant to rule on the throne forever.  That everlasting King is Jesus, the Messiah and Son of David.  What will be King David’s responsibility in the Millennium?

Psalm 89:20  I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him: 

Psalm 89:21  With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him. 

Psalm 89:22  The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him. 

Psalm 89:23  And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him. 

Psalm 89:24  But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted. 

Psalm 89:25  I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers. 

Psalm 89:26  He shall cry unto me, “Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.”

Psalm 89:27  Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth

Psalm 89:28  My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. 

Psalm 89:29  His seed also will I make to endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 

Psalm 89:30  If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 

Psalm 89:31  If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 

Psalm 89:32  Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 

Psalm 89:33  Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 

Psalm 89:34  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 

Psalm 89:35  Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 

Psalm 89:36  His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. 

Psalm 89:37  It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. 

 

End:  David’s Throne