THE DAVIDIC COVENANT

Both of these chapters cover the moment when the Prophet Nathan delivers a message from Yahweh to David.

This is the 5th Covenant God has made.

1. Adam & Eve
2. Noah
3. Abraham/Isaac/Jacob
4. Moses/Israel
5. David

Each time God makes a covenant, the plan of redemption and the family tree of Messiah gets a little clearer.

With Adam & Eve, God gave them dominion and (after the fall) announced that “the seed of the woman” would crush the head of the serpent. So we (and the fallen realm) know that the serpent-crusher will be human. This eliminates all of the angelic host from consideration.

With Abraham, all the other nations and families of earth are taken out of consideration as the possible origin of the serpent-crusher. It will be through Abraham that all the families of earth will be blessed.

With Moses, now it becomes apparent that of all the “many sons of Father Abraham” it will be the descendants of Isaac and Jacob through whom the Seed of the Woman will come.

The Covenant with David further narrows the field. Of all the tribes and clans in Israel, the LORD reveals that He has chosen David to be the man through whom the seed of Messiah will come.

If you think through each covenant, you will notice that the forces of Darkness focus on the Seed of the Woman; the coming serpent-crusher. When it is revealed that the serpent crusher will be human, the kingdom of darkness tries to highjack human DNA to thwart God’s plan. That’s part of what was behind the Genesis 6 rebellion. I think that “being like the Most High” and having a people of their own was another factor.

Anyway – once Abraham is revealed as the seed-carrier, look at how the fallen realm attacks his family: jealousy, murder-plots, slavery, the order to kill all the Hebrew boys, and finally the pursuit of Pharaoh’s army to kill them all.

It didn’t get any easier after Sinai. The surrounding nations attack and seduce and tempt and oppress and lure away into idolatry. If not for God’s divine oversight, the seed would’ve been mixed with the idolatrous nations and lost.

Now that it is revealed that the serpent-crusher will come through David, watch in the upcoming chapters how the Kingdom of Darkness will throw every possible thing at David and his family and his descendants to destroy this dynasty.

None of this is random, friends. There is a millennia-long war for the fate of the earth in progress. And God moving to Jerusalem was a milestone in it.

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After the Ark is brought into Jerusalem and set in its special Tabernacle, David proceeds to build himself a proper palace. This likely took several months or even a few years. And it bothers him that he now lives in a solid house while Yahweh is still living in a tent. So he decides he wants to build a house for Yahweh. And he says so to Nathan.

Now – before we go further let’s talk about Nathan. Dr. Ken Johnson shares information from historical writings that said Nathan the Prophet was actually a Gentile; a descendant of those Gibeonites who tricked Joshua with their moldy bread and ragged clothes. He was not a Jewish convert – meaning, he was not circumcised and did not eat kosher or observe the Jewish ceremonial law. But he kept the moral law and was trained in the scripture and in prophecy; perhaps from Samuel’s “school of the prophets.” The link above will take you to a YouTube video about him and the extra-biblical book that bears his name.

So “The Word of the LORD” speaks to Nathan that evening after his conversation with David – perhaps in a dream, but certainly in some kind of clear way. And God turns the table on David. Instead of David building a house for Yahweh, Yahweh, (through a son of David), is going to build him a house; or in other words, a Dynasty.

Remember how we practiced thinking “Hebrewly” and maybe had spots in our brains light up? Well, in the Hebrew mind, the essence of a house is family. Even if you lived in a tent, the family is the house. A person’s children and future descendants are their “house.”

We westerners picture this:

While ancient Hebrews picture this:

This prophecy is packed with double application. Solomon is one of David’s sons. And he will build the house for Yahweh; the First Temple. But it is Jesus, the Son of David, who will truly build “God’s House,” (God’s Family), The Church. And as David’s heir, Jesus will rule from David’s throne forever; giving David a perpetual Dynasty.

That’s an honor so great you can’t get your head around it. And neither can David.

“Then King David went in and sat before the Lord and prayed, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”
‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭17‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I cannot find a picture of how I think that looked so I’ll try to describe it.

Nathan received this message at night and I suspect that he went immediately to deliver it. I think David went to the tent where the Ark was in the wee hours of the night. Jerusalem was quiet and dark except for faint night sounds and a few torches. Then as he approached the Tabernacle, he could hear soft music as the night-shift Levites sang psalms with harps and lyres in the moon light. The sky is deep and glittering with stars. A few oil lamps flicker. David takes off his shoes, steps barefoot onto the cool dust of holy ground, and slips into the tent.

It’s possible that there was a veil hanging with the Ark just on the other side. Glowing. He can FEEL the powerful presence that can create or destroy an entire universe with only words… mere inches away.

And he sits down on the ground. Speechless. Picks at a loose thread on his tunic…

It might’ve felt a bit like a confessional booth – where the confessor cannot see the face of his priest but knows he is there.

And there is a one-sided conversation as David responds to the Word of Yahweh.

“Who am I?” “You speak as though I were someone great.” We both know I’m just a shepherd.” “You know what I’m really like.”“LORD, You are the greatest… there isn’t any god like You.” “I know I have a lot of nerve coming into your presence like this, but it’s only because of what you said.” “I won’t argue with You about whether or not I’m worthy. If this is what You want to do then You know best and all I can say is, I am your servant. And I pray that my family will always be faithful to You.” “LORD when You bless someone, it is an eternal blessing.”

I think David just sat there a long time listening to the music outside. Perhaps singing along at times. Until the sky began to lighten, the birds began to sing, and the musician shift changed. Perhaps he had to stretch the stiffness out of his limbs as he stood. I think he would’ve been reluctant to leave. Maybe he found a parchment outside and wrote down his prayer, then rolled it up, and carried it home to be given to the royal chronicler…