Read:
- 2 Samuel 7
- Psalm 78:65-72
A covenant is a promise. Sometimes it’s between two people, as in the covenant of marriage. Several times in the Bible, God makes a covenant with a person. He promised Noah that he would never again destroy the earth with a flood, and he marked the promise with a rainbow (Genesis 9). God promised Moses that as long as the people obeyed God, he would bless them, but if they disobeyed, they would be taken into captivity; the symbol of the promise was the two tablets of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:1-8). The covenant with Noah is forever; the covenant with Moses was for a time.
The covenant God made with David is also one that will last forever. God promised that he would put David on the throne and that his descendant would rule on that throne forever. David’s son Solomon became the next king, but Solomon didn’t live forever, and just as God had warned, the Israelites turned away from God and were taken captive. So what did God mean?
The promise God made to David wasn’t just for David. It was for all of us. The descendant of David that will rule forever is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The first time he came to earth, he lived as a human and died a horrible death to pay the debt for our sins. The second time he comes, he will rule forever in the New Heaven and the New Earth, as King of Kings. Unlike the other covenants, the covenant God made with David doesn’t have a singular symbol—but every time we think of the cross and the empty tomb, we remember that God keeps his promises.
Pray: God, you are faithful, and you always keep your promises. You promised a Savior, and Jesus came. I know you will keep your promise to one day return and all the earth will worship you. Amen.