January 24 & 27 – Davidic Covenant

If you were expecting to discuss Psalm 89, don’t worry, you’re in the right place. This week Tyler preached on the Davidic Covenant from Psalm 89, and in our discussion we’ll be looking at the covenantal agreement itself in 2 Samuel 7, which should give you good material for your discussion.

The exchange between God and David here (funneled through the prophet Nathan) starts out oddly tense. David has been thinking about building a temple to house the Ark of the Covenant, and God responds with, “Did I ask you to build a house for me?” It has the air of a rebuke to it. And then God totally switches gears and gives a covenantal promise to David in verse 8. It seems a little out of left field, but some brief context can put this into perspective. David became King over all of Israel and reigned in Hebron for seven years before conquering Jerusalem and moving his capital there (2 Sam. 5:5-6). At the time the Ark of the Covenant was still dwelling in the Tabernacle, a huge portable tent structure that had followed Israel through the wilderness back in the days of Moses and Joshua, ultimately until it settled in Shiloh (Josua 18:1). That’s what God is referencing in 2 Sam. 7:6, “I have been moving about in a tent.” Back in chapter 5 David had his palace built in Jerusalem (5:11) and was now thinking about building a temple to God that could house the Ark in the new capital.

So David is working to consolidate his rule over Israel and unify his people with a corresponding center for all Jewish worship, when God comes to David with this eternal covenant (and with very little comment on the temple). As with all the other covenants this had both an immediate effect and an eternal effect. God would work for the rest of David’s life to secure Israel and protect her from her enemies. But God would also make provisions to secure the throne of David forever by putting his own Son on that throne. So while David is thinking about his kingdom and setting up shop in Jerusalem, God is making an eternal promise to reign over his people for all eternity, a promise that will be fulfilled in Jesus. This perhaps explains some of the quick shift and suddenness of this covenant coming to David here in 2 Samuel 7.

In your discussion you’ll also turn to Luke 1:26-33, in which the angel Gabriel promised Mary that her son Jesus would be given the throne of David. Being the heir to the throne entitles him to the promises of God’s covenant back in 2 Samuel 7, both good and bad, which gives a striking new reality to God’s promise for discipline to the disobedient heir in 2 Sam. 7:14, considering Jesus bore our disobedience and was punished in our place (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24). It also means that, this very moment, Jesus is King. He reigns over all things, holds everything together by his divine power, and is coming back soon. That drastically changes the way we relate to Jesus, knowing he is fully in control of all things, whether past or future, great or small, good news or bad. This also changes the way we relate to others, knowing the goodness of Jesus’ reign in our lives and knowing that no one is more powerful than our King.

As noted above, the sermon was on Psalm 89 but we’re studying a related passage from 2 Samuel.

• Could someone read 2 Samuel 7:1-17 for us?

• What stood out to you from this passage?

• How would you characterize this exchange between God and King David?

• The covenant itself is in verses 8-17. What promises does God make to David there?

• Could someone read Luke 1:26-33?

• Looking back at 2 Samuel 7, what does it mean that Jesus has inherited David’s throne?

• How does Jesus being King affect your everyday life and the way you relate to him?

• How does Jesus being King affect the way you relate to others?