The Davidic Covenant
2 Samuel 7:1-17
Israel’s at rest. David’s a man of action, so as he sits in his palace, he realizes, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.” The ark’s in Jerusalem after having been captured years ago by the Philistines; returned after God shows them his power over their gods, but then sat outside the city out of fear of God’s power. David arranged for the return of the ark and now it sits in a tent in the city. David doesn’t believe it’s right that the ark sits in a tent instead of having a proper home. Part of this also has to do with the culture of the time where nations were evaluated by the power of their gods which were symbolized by the size and grandeur of their temples. David likely looks at the temples of these gods and wants his God to be recognized as powerful as these other gods. The prophet Nathan also thinks this is a great idea, but God has different ideas.
The Lord doesn’t come to David, he comes to the prophet Nathan instead. As a prophet, when Nathan told David to go ahead with building a house for the ark, he never thought to seek the Lord’s leading first. Like many of us, Nathan falls into the trap of thinking that if it sounds like a great idea to us, then God must also think it’s a great idea. It’s not that David’s idea is a bad idea, it’s that it doesn’t align with what God’s doing, or where God is leading. This is why we have been given the gift of prayer, and today the gift of Scripture, we have gifted wise people in our congregations, and have the ability to gather together to seek God’s leading together. David and Nathan forgot all this.
The Lord seeks out Nathan instead. He tells Nathan to talk to David and give David God’s plans, which are different than David and Nathan’s plans. The Lord tells them, “Are you the one to build me a house to dwell in? I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt to this day. I have been moving from place to place with a tent as my dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, did I ever say to any of their rulers whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?” The Lord goes on to remind David that he’s never had a house, he’s always been a God on the move with his people wherever they have found themselves.
When the Lord uses the term, “a house to dwell in,” it’s the word tabernacle. The tabernacle was a meeting place for God and his people, which is why John in the opening of his gospel writes about Jesus coming, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” In Greek, John says, “The Word tabernacled among us,” echoing back to Israel’s time in the wilderness, and to this conversation. It doesn’t matter where we find ourselves, God’s there and doesn’t need a special place to call home.
Since Pentecost, the Spirit actually makes our hearts its home, picking up on the idea of the tabernacle and God being with us wherever we are. Jesus gets at the same thing in his conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
The Lord’s not against a temple. That’s not the point of what the Lord is getting at here. A physical place that reflects God’s presence is a blessing, not only to God, but also to the people, giving us a place to gather together to worship that reflects who God is. God gives extremely detailed plans for both the tabernacle and the temple. Both places of great beauty and wonder, places of craftsmanship, and in the layout of the buildings, point to a journey of moving closer to God and his presence. The Lord reminds David of what he’s done for David; raising him up, being with him always, and now giving him a time of peace.
We read in 1 Chronicles 22:7–10 that the Lord shared more with David about why he’s not the one to build the temple, “‘You have shed much blood and have fought many wars. You are not to build a house for my Name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in my sight. But you will have a son who will be a man of peace and rest, and I will give him rest from all his enemies on every side. His name will be Solomon, and I will grant Israel peace and quiet during his reign. He is the one who will build a house for my Name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.”
This gives us greater insight into what the Lord says next. Now come the promises, “I will provide a place for my people, a home, and rest from enemies.” Then comes the personal promise to David, “The Lord declares to you that the Lord himself will establish a house for you: When 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.” There’s a beauty and wonder that comes through in the Hebrew that we don’t get in translation. The word that God uses for “house” is bayit and it has three meanings in Hebrew. It can mean “house,” “temple” or even “dynasty.” David wants to build a house that is a temple for the Lord. But God turns it around and promises to build a “house” that’s a dynasty for David. As one scholar writes, “God rejects “temple,” but promises “dynasty.”
David’s children will succeed him. This wasn’t always a guarantee in those days as coups were common and even David came after Saul instead of Saul’s son Jonathan. The Lord promises to establish David’s son’s kingdom and it will be this son who will build the house for the Lord’s Name; the temple will be for the Lord’s reputation and fame. The Lord is also clear about the future. David’s line isn’t always going to be faithful; they’re going to sin and go against the Lord and the Lord says straight out, “When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands.” This punishment is not about vengeance, it’s about guidance back into a right relationship with God again.
It’s like a parent disciplining their children, the goal is to help the children realize where they’ve gone wrong and why, but also to help them change. That change looks like realizing the wrong or sin, confessing that you’ve sinned, asking forgiveness in the spirit of reconciliation, and to continue to grow and mature in your relationship with God and the body of Jesus. The beauty is that we don’t have to fear not being forgiven, “But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.” This isn’t permission to do whatever you want, counting on Jesus forgiving you no matter what; this is a call to recognize God’s commitment to his people, to us, and to respond in commitment to God through obedience; that’s what covenant looks like. As Jesus says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” We see Jesus’ love in the cross, in his willingness to take on himself our sin and punishment in order to make us right with God our Father and it calls us to sacrificial love in return.
Walter Brueggemann writes, “David, David’s son, and David’s line can never lose Yahweh’s loyalty.” God’s work in David’s life and through his descendants reveals a shift from God’s presence with the people to God’s presence with the people through the line of David. God’s people now know that the coming Messiah will be a king just like his father, David. Brueggemann writes, “David is given no credit and assign no merit in this recital. David’s pre-eminence and power are all Yahweh’s doing. David is the creation of Yahweh’s powerful, relentless graciousness.”
What does this all mean for us today? This covenant is a covenant of presence and commitment, something that flows trough all the covenants, it’s also the promise of a kingdom rooted in this relationship with God. We’re part of God’s people, grafted in as adopted children in God’s family. God is still at work in our lives, present through the presence of the Holy Spirit in us. Jesus is on the throne, he’s been given all authority in heaven and on earth, he’s in charge as King of kings. As our king, we are called to submit ourselves to Jesus, to live his way as he taught and modelled. We will sin, but we’re able to live in hope, knowing that through Jesus, God’s love is never removed from us. We may face punishment for our sin, we certainly experience the consequences of our sin, but we never have to fear the we will ever escape or be outside of God’s love.
