The Davidic Covenant

Many believe the fall of man was a surprise to God, forcing His
hand to protect the Garden of Eden, but God knew Adam was going
to sin and be forced into the land of darkness. It is a complicated plan
to bring mankind from light to darkness to light, overcoming the
pitfalls of so many that come before them. Satan, who led them
astray, deceived himself by falling into the trap of an offense that is
unforgivable. Had God not set up the scene to make the cast available
for their fall, man would have blamed God for their sin. It is the
beginning step for humans to reclaim their rightful position with their
Creator.

From Moses and the law, we proceed to Joshua and the judges,
and in Deuteronomy 34 we learn that the leadership of the Israelites
transfers to Joshua and all authority of the kingdom goes to him. He is
instructed to divide the land among the conquering tribes. He was
commissioned by God to operate the kingdom according to the laws
of Moses. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth,
but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do
according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way
prosperous, and then you will have good success.1 These words can
benefit all of us in our journey through life.

After the administration of Joshua came the judges. This term in
the Bible is used in a far broader concept than just granting authority
to administer to the affairs of mankind. It is one of the names given to
God, “the judge of all the earth.” All judges were chosen by God and
the Bible says that God raised up judges to drive back the alien
nations as they attempted to move back into the land. A judgeship was
not an office you inherited but a divine seal of approval when you
were victorious in battle. If a judge lost a battle, it was a pretty good
sign that God had not blessed the endeavor.

The Israelites, just like modern man, went through a continuous
cycle where disobedience brought discipline. Discipline brought
confession so the discipline could be lifted. The cycle of falling away
from God into unrighteous behavior, then being disciplined for their
trespassing, finally realizing their mistakes they confess to God crying
out for forgiveness, and then God delivering them from their distress,
is played out in every single one of our lives on a daily basis. It is the
cycle of circles and it is our goal to break this cycle and turn it into a
wave of ups and downs. In our fallen state we can never make the
wave a line of faithful service, but through daily Bible study and
prayer we can control the ups and downs of the process wherein the
cycle is bearable.

Moses delivered God’s people from the Egyptians, Joshua
delivered them from the wilderness, and the kings brought forth the
emphasis of rulership. Through the life and times of Samuel, Israel
was oppressed by the Philistines because of their disobedience. (The
Philistines were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of
Canaan between the twelfth century BC and 604 BC when they were
exiled to Mesopotamia by King Nebuchadnezzar II. Mesopotamia is
modern day Turkey.) The people were saying that if they had a king,
they would be more likely to operate under the principles of God. We
all know this wasn’t true, but they believed a king would help them
defeat their enemies and they would not have to go through the
humiliating process of confession and repentance. Their immoral
behavior was not in wanting deliverance but in rejecting the method
of God’s prescribed process of deliverance.

Israel’s first king was Saul, a tall, handsome, blond-haired striking
figure that they could fall behind in line to follow into battle.
However, Saul had not been on the throne for two years when God
rejected his authority. It seems Saul had taken for himself the
privileges that belonged to the priests only, by offering a sacrifice
seeking divine aid. His armies acted cowardly toward the enemy and
Saul himself usually showed up late for the fight. His reign was
marked by continuous disobedience and when Samuel had anointed
David as king, he rejected the theocratic administration by continuous
opposition. Saul’s refusal of God’s rejection of him brought on
several attempts on David’s life.

Saul disobeyed God’s direction to destroy the Amalekites and
permitted his men to take the spoils of war against the commandments
of God. “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the
fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and
stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected
the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.”2
Saul admitted the sin, but because of his disobedience he was
removed from his kingship. David’s victory over Goliath and the
Philistines was God’s indication that David’s kingdom would be one
of peace and righteousness, and after the death of Saul, David was
acknowledged as king.

The land promises of the Abrahamic Covenant were further
enlarged through the Palestinian Covenant. In the next great promise
of God, that was made with David, God confirms the promise of their
descendants being as many as the sand of the sea. This is the lineage
that will ultimately bring forth the Messiah. God tells David that
when his days are over, He will raise up an offspring to succeed him,
and God will establish His kingdom through him. God says, “I have
made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant
David: ‘Your seed I will establish forever and build up your throne to
all generations.’”3

As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea
measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and
the Levites who minister to Me. Moreover, the word of
the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, “Have you not considered what
these people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families which
the LORD has chosen, He has also cast them off’? Thus, they
have despised My people, as if they should no more be a nation
before them.”

Thus says the LORD: “If My covenant is not with day and
night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth,
then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My
servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over
the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their
captives to return and will have mercy on them.”4

There are fifty-nine references to David in the New Testament yet
not one of those verses links David to the present session of Christ.
Christ is not only seated on the throne of David here on earth but also
sits on the right side of our heavenly Father. There is no reference in
the Bible where Israel is offered anything but a kingdom here on
earth, whereas God visits the Gentiles taking from them a people in
His own name. God has promised to bless both the Gentiles and the
Israelites but many of those promises are reflected in two different
dispensations. At the return of Christ, the tabernacle will be built, and
the kingdom promised through the Davidic Covenant will be
established on earth. Prior to this the Gentile kingdom will have
already been established in heaven. All creatures high and low will be
brought to the knowledge of the Lord.

“Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you,
the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you
call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God
drives you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice,
according to all that I command you today, you and your children,
with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will
bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you,
and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God
has scattered you. If any of you are driven out to the
farthest parts under heaven, from there the LORD your God will gather
you, and from there He will bring you. Then the LORD your God will
bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall
possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your
fathers.5 And they will be reunited with Christ under the conditions of
the Davidic Covenant.

All Israelites will repent and turn to their true King and Savior,
Jesus Christ. If My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked
ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal
their land.6

1.) Joshua 1:8
2.) 1 Samuel 15:22-23
3.) Psalm 89:3-5
4.) Jeremiah 33:19-26
5.) Deuteronomy 30:1-5
6.) 2 Chronicles 7:14