The Son of David and the Kingdom of God
Download MP3If you have a Bible, I invite you to turn to 2nd Samuel, chapter 7. 2nd Samuel 7. It's also there in your worship guide. I'm not going to read all of that text for us this morning, but we will read a lot of it. Now I know I've mentioned before that, Genesis chapter 12, which is where God calls Abraham, that that chapter is kind of like the Atlanta airport of scripture.
Joel Brooks:No matter what theology or doctrine you want to fly to, you first have to go through Genesis chapter 12 in order to get there. Now next, up in importance, concerning chapters in the Old Testament is the one that we're about to look at. If you want to know who Jesus is, if you want to know our hope for the future, if you want to know about the kingdom of God, you have to first go through this chapter. It's a glorious chapter. It's it's beautiful.
Joel Brooks:It's also one that can be so familiar to us, especially those who've grown up in church that we've kind of lost, our appreciation of it. I used to regularly take college students to Northern Ireland, during the summers for mission trips. If you haven't been to Ireland, it's stunningly beautiful, especially if you go up North and you go into the County there, which is where we would usually set up and do vacation bible scores. While we're there, it was really easy to recognize the Americans when we came. First, we were loud.
Joel Brooks:The Americans were were really loud, sometimes obnoxious. We spoke with different accents. We wore colorful clothes. All they would wear was black there. And, so you could spot us by our clothes.
Joel Brooks:But in addition to all of those things, there was another way we stood out. And we'd be taking pictures of it. And the locals there would be like, what are you looking at? I kind of feel that way when we come to this text. We've just kinda gotten used to the beautiful scenery here.
Joel Brooks:And so I am praying that God would give us new eyes to freshly see, once again, how beautiful this text is. Because what it reveals to us about our future and God's kingdom is just stunning. Now, when the king lived in his house and the Lord had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the Prophet, see now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells in a tent. And Nathan said to the king, go do all that is in your heart, for the Lord is with you. But that same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan.
Joel Brooks:Go and tell my servant David, thus says the Lord, would you build me a house to dwell in? I've not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day. I've been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people of Israel, saying, why have you not built me a house of cedar? Now, therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep that you should be prince over my people Israel.
Joel Brooks:And I have been with you wherever you went. And I have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for peep for my people, Israel, and I will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more as formerly from the time that I appointed judges over the pea my people Israel.
Joel Brooks:And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you. And you shall who shall come from your body. And I will establish his kingdom.
Joel Brooks:He shall build a house for my name. And I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from whom I put away from before you.
Joel Brooks:And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. If you would pray with me.
Joel Brooks:Father, we thank you for your word, that we get to hear from you. Thank you that you have preserved this word before us for 3000 years now so that we might be edified from it in this moment and that we might hear you clearly speaking to us. I pray that we would grow in our appreciation and our adoration of Jesus, our lord and our savior. I pray that we would grow in thankfulness and in the hope that we have in you, Jesus. I pray that my words would fall to the ground and blow away and not be remembered anymore.
Joel Brooks:But, lord, may your words remain and may they change us. We pray this in the strong name of Jesus. Amen. So these words that we just read and we hear God speaking to David, know that this is the most words that he has spoken since Mount Sinai, which was 400 years earlier. Just this fact alone should give us a hint as to the importance of these words.
Joel Brooks:I read one commentator say that what the, the declaration of independence is to Americans, this chapter here is for God's people. And this is true. This is the text that creates our citizenship. It gives us our identity as God's people. Indeed, one cannot understand Christianity or the life of Jesus apart from these words.
Joel Brooks:Let me give you some examples. For instance, at Jesus's birth, when the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell her that she would have a child, he says, do not be afraid Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and he shall be called Jesus. And then he begins to quote from here. He will be great, and will be called the son of the most high.
Joel Brooks:And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David. From a psalm rooted in 2nd Samuel 7 when they said, Hosanna. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna to the son of David. The son of David is coming to take his throne.
Joel Brooks:At Pentecost, when Peter rushed out of that room with his hair on fire, he goes and he preaches his very first sermon. And what he says in those excited moments, he goes, brothers and sisters, can I say to you with confidence this, about the patriarch David? Sworn with an ode to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of Jesus. That's actually the text we'll be looking at this Easter as we bring this study on the life of David to its conclusion. On Paul's first recorded sermon, we read it in acts 13.
Joel Brooks:He says this. And as for the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, I will give you and the holy the holy and sure blessings of David. Paul's first sermon, he goes to 2nd Samuel 7. Peter's first sermon, he goes to 2nd Samuel 7. And even Jesus's last words to us, he goes to 2nd Samuel 7.
Joel Brooks:The last chapter you have in your bible, Revelation 22, Jesus says this, I am the root and the descendant of David. I'm the bright morning star. Surely, I am coming soon. So to summarize, Jesus' birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his coming again are all understood through this text. So it's gotta be important.
Joel Brooks:Well, let's see why. Let me set the context for you. After many years of David being on the run, he finally is firmly establishes a king over Israel. Not just Judah and Israel, but it's a united kingdom now, and he is firmly established as their king. Like we saw last week, he he brought in the ark of God to the city of Jerusalem, which is now his new capital city and will be forever known as the city of David.
Joel Brooks:And after he successfully brought in the ark, a reign of peace descended, over Judah and Israel during this It was during this time that David, he approaches his prophet, Nathan. And he goes, Nathan, I'd like to do something for God. I'd I'd like to do something for God. I mean, you know, I'm hanging out in my luxurious palace with its, you know, cedar beams. I'm sitting on my golden throne, you know.
Joel Brooks:And look where God is. I mean, his ark, his throne, it's just dwelling in a tent. And an old one at that. I mean, it's 400 years old by this point. And and that tent's gotta be having some wear and some tear.
Joel Brooks:And so David thinks, I just I really want to do something about that. I'd like to build God a house. Do you ever feel similar to David in this? You're living just such a life of luxury. You kinda feel a little low grade guilt at what you're not doing for God.
Joel Brooks:You know, as you are there sipping your, you know, skim vanilla latte from Starbucks And you're thinking, I think I heard a commercial that said for the cup of a cost of a cup of coffee, I could be feeding some child in a third world country. And you feel a little guilty about that as you're drinking it. And then you think, gosh, for the the price that I paid for my dinner going out. I mean, who knows how many kids I could have fed in that country. And you feel a little guilt about that.
Joel Brooks:Maybe after a long hard day of work, you finally get home and you're exhausted and you just crash on the couch and you just want to veg. And so you turn on the TV and you watch your favorite show for, you know, 30 minutes. But then you feel a little guilty about that because you know, you know, I've got neighbors who don't know Jesus. I probably right now with a sense of urgency need to go and be pounding on doors, telling everybody the gospel, urging them to believe. And you just always at all times, this this low grade guilt never really leaves you, that you should be doing more.
Joel Brooks:I gotta be doing more. I gotta be doing more. God needs me to do more. What can I give to God? Any of you ever struggle with that?
Joel Brooks:I do. At times, I struggle with that. And it could become even crippling. Always thinking I should be doing more. Well, this is David.
Joel Brooks:He's like, I I could be doing more. I should be doing more. I'm going to build David or I'm going to build God a house. If someone came up to him and said, I'd like to write a check and give you a new sanctuary. You're like, do it.
Joel Brooks:The Lord is with you. I don't need to pray about it. I don't need to think about it. That sounds wonderful. Just just write it out.
Joel Brooks:I mean, that's what Nathan does. He he doesn't think about it. He doesn't even pray about it. He just assumes you wanna do that? Great.
Joel Brooks:Go and do it. But then, God speaks to Nathan later that night and tells him, you gotta return the check. You can't do this. Which is why we know this is a true story God's own word because no pastor actually does that. And he says, I need you to go and talk to David because it's time for us to have, have a DTR.
Joel Brooks:And we need to have a little define the relationship talk. Y'all know what a DTR is. If you don't, I'm I'm happy to explain it to you later. Or perhaps if you and somebody need a DTR, I can iron things out for you. When I was in college ministry, actually, at one point, I had a girl.
Joel Brooks:And I was I saw she's been hanging out with some guy. And I said, so are y'all dating or not? And she goes, I don't know. I don't know if we're dating, which is just how it goes now. You're forever in limbo.
Joel Brooks:And so I said, well, I can get some clarity for you. And so the next time they were together, I just looked at the guy and I just said, So are, are y'all dating? He's like, I I mean, you know, I really enjoy hanging. I said, well, what's wrong? Don't you think she's beautiful?
Joel Brooks:And she's right there, just dying. I was like, don't you think she's a godly woman? She has a wonderful personality. Are are you are you all dating or not? That was the last time they were together.
Joel Brooks:I defined that relationship, and I saved her so much time. So I'm available if you if you need my services. That's what God is saying here. He's like, it's time for a DTR. We gotta define I need to correct some things.
Joel Brooks:And he essentially tells David. Just who do you think you are in our relationship? Just who do you think you are thinking you should build me a house? Do you think I need a house? Is that what you think?
Joel Brooks:In all the years I've been wandering around with the Israelites, and I've been wandering in a tent have I ever once said I wanted a house? I don't care about a house. I care about my people. And I've chosen to live among my people. You see, the first thing that God needs to remind David of is that he is a incarnational God.
Joel Brooks:God chooses to live and to be amongst his people. That's why God's presence dwelled in a tent all these years. His people were on the move and God was gonna be on the move with them. When his people suffered, God was gonna suffer with them, right alongside them. If they were displaced, God was gonna be displaced with them.
Joel Brooks:He lived in a tent because he wanted to be with his people, not because he couldn't afford a nice big house. He could afford that anytime. Of course, we see the same heart in our lord and savior Jesus and come to earth and be homeless. Foxes have holes. Birds have nests.
Joel Brooks:But the son of man has no place to lay his head. It's not because the son of man could not build a house. It's because he wanted to be with his people. He cared more about people. God needs to remind David of that in their relationship.
Joel Brooks:Always. Always. You never give back to me. I am
Jeffrey Heine:always the giver. I am and I forever will be a God of grace. I
Joel Brooks:am I am and I forever will be a God of grace. I'm not gonna be that type of God where you think, if you scratch my back, I will scratch yours. The apostle Paul would later expound on that in Romans chapter, 11 when he says, who has given the gift to God that he might ever be repaid? No one. Then he says that great doxology.
Joel Brooks:That's right. For from him and through him and to him are all things. God's the one who always does the giving. To give you perspective as to how important this is, and know that after this, David is going to do some pretty heinous things. David is going to go on to commit adultery.
Joel Brooks:He's gonna lie about it. He's gonna murder someone to try to cover up for it. He's gonna do some heinous things. And God will allow him to do those things. And then will later correct him.
Joel Brooks:But God will not allow David to build him a temple and then later correct him. What he's saying is, what you're about to do right here has far more disastrous consequences than having an affair or murdering someone. It's a much dangerous path you're taking concerning our relationship thinking you could ever do anything for me. I'm the giver. And when God sees that David is about to do this, he has to put a stop to it immediately.
Joel Brooks:Here's the dangerous thing. This is why David God steps in quickly. David has finally reached this point where he's beginning to believe he can actually do something for God, my even need. He's beginning to believe that he is now great enough, strong enough, wealthy enough to truly do something great for God. He can now become the giver.
Joel Brooks:God can become the receiver. And if you ever come to a point where you believe that that you become the giver and God becomes the receiver in this, you lose your ability to worship. You lose your ability to even understand who your creator is. Because God is always the giver in our relationship. I mean, the very praises that we just sung, God is the one who put the air in your lungs to be able to sing those songs.
Joel Brooks:Thank you, God, for this Thank you, God, for this food. We're always thanking him for his gifts that we receive. Never are those switched in which God looks at us and says, thank you. Thank you for the gift of that house. I so appreciate it.
Joel Brooks:God is always the giver. Now, when David begins to reverse these roles, God in his mercy steps in. And he reminds David of how their relationship works. And he reminds him of this. You know, verse 8, he he says, do you remember who you were before you were king?
Joel Brooks:You were nobody. Even your dad didn't think much of you. Says, but I took you from the pasture, from following sheep, and I made you a prince. Notice, God doesn't use the title king. He's the king.
Joel Brooks:But I've made you a prince, a leader among the people. But remember, David, you used to just follow sheep around until I sent Samuel to go anoint you as king. And then he goes on in verse 9 to say, and I have been with you wherever you went, and I've cut off all your enemies before you. In other words, he's asking David, David, who exactly do you think killed Goliath? Tell me.
Joel Brooks:By whose strength did that happen? And what about the 1,000 and thousands of Philistines? Who exactly do you think won those battles and gave you those victories? Do do you think it's you? David, one stray arrow, one slip of the foot, one better strategy from any enemy, one popped blood vessel, any of those things, and you're dead.
Joel Brooks:It was me giving you those victories. You did nothing. I did everything. And that's how it has been. And that's how it always will be.
Joel Brooks:And after reminding David of all that he has done, he now tells David all he is going to do. He says, I will make your name great. I will give the people of Israel a place to rest. I will give you rest from your enemies. When you read through this, you're gonna hear God saying, I will I will.
Joel Brooks:I will. I will. And I want you to notice that. Maybe you could underline all those I wills. And then go back to, Genesis 12.
Joel Brooks:Go back to Exodus 6. And you will find in the calling of Abraham, God saying, I will make your name great. I will bless the world through you. I will. I will.
Joel Brooks:I will. When God calls Moses, and he tells Moses, to go and to deliver the people from Israel, he says, but make no mistake. I will deliver I will deliver the people from Egypt. I will defeat pharaoh. I will lead the people into the promised land.
Joel Brooks:I will take care of you. It's I will, I will, I will. Moses, do you know what you will do? You shall know that I am the Lord your God. David, I will, I will, I will.
Joel Brooks:You know what you will do? You will know that I am the Lord, your God. This doesn't mean David to sit around and do nothing. It doesn't mean as Christians, we're to sit around and do nothing. No.
Joel Brooks:When our hearts have been transformed by the grace of God, we're profoundly changed. And when his spirit comes and lives in us, we become radically obedient people. We will follow the Lord Jesus and do whatever he commands. God just didn't command David to do this. This is what David wanted to do in thinking he could give to God.
Joel Brooks:I know I'm pounding this in. This whole idea of we're saved by grace, we're sanctified by grace and you're like, yada, yada, yada. I grew up in church my whole life. I get it. I get it.
Joel Brooks:But you know, this goes against the engine of your heart. I actually know missionaries who've gone in the mission field and they've never really learned that they're saved by grace. I know people who they were actually struggling ever really feeling anything in worship, feeling anything in prayer. And like, they thought, I know what I'll do. I'll make a great sacrifice.
Joel Brooks:And I'll go overseas. And I'll go to the mission field. And then what they found when they were there, is that they they were the exact same person as they were when they were in the states. The same struggles, the same depressions, the same sins, the same joyless Christianity. And they get really bitter.
Joel Brooks:And the bitterness is this. God, I made this huge sacrifice for you. You owe me. Scratches ours. He never relates to this that way.
Joel Brooks:But that's good news. He just gives, and he gives, and he gives. And he asks that we would receive. Another little subtle way that this, you know, this lack of grace hits our Christian thinking is is just the way we even talk about the kingdom of God. We We talk about the kingdom of God, and we talk about how we need to further the kingdom.
Joel Brooks:We need to build the kingdom. You realize that that is nowhere in scripture? Jesus never talks about furthering or building the kingdom. We there's even a ministry, isn't there, called kingdom builders? Yeah.
Joel Brooks:You should probably just slash right through that. Jesus never uses that language. This is how Jesus talks about the kingdom. He says you are to receive it. You are to see it.
Joel Brooks:You are to wait for it. You are to enter it. He gives it. We don't build it. It's a gift from him.
Joel Brooks:We are always the receiver. Alright. Let's move on. The the next thing that god tells David is it's so staggering there's simply no way to do justice to it. David says, hey, I want to build you a house.
Joel Brooks:And God says, no, you won't. But I'm going to build you a house. You don't build me a house. I'm going to build you a house. And I'm gonna establish a dynasty through you that neither death nor sin nor time will ever destroy.
Joel Brooks:It will go on forever and ever and ever. Look at verse 11 again, the second half. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
Joel Brooks:I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men. But my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.
Joel Brooks:I mean, this is so staggering. It's like going to somebody saying, you know, can I buy your meal for you? Person goes, no. But can I buy you a house and land and maybe get you a new car? And I mean, it's just the reversal.
Joel Brooks:Can I build you this temple? No. But I'm gonna make you into a dynasty forever. It's astonishing what God promises him. David approaches him with this desire.
Joel Brooks:Please, can I do this? And God's like, would you just stop? Let me tell you what I wanna do for you. I wanna give you a dynasty unlike any dynasty in history. A dynasty that would make the dynasties of Egypt or China or Japan or Rome look like a blink of the eye.
Joel Brooks:I'm gonna put your children on the throne forever. And I know that typically when we read something like this, we jump straight to Jesus. I mean, we're taught that in Sunday school. It's just like, Jesus, all the time, straight to him. But the text doesn't allow us to do that just yet.
Joel Brooks:When God promises David that, you know, he's gonna his children are gonna be on this throne forever, notice he actually says this. He goes, and if any of these sons commit sins, iniquity, I will correct them. Well, that's not Jesus. Right? Jesus was sinless.
Joel Brooks:He was perfect. And so we know at least at first, God is talking about other descendants of David that will be sitting on the throne. And David has many descendants who will sit on the throne. He will have Solomon. He will have Rehoboam, Abijah, Jehoshaphat, Jeroham, Hazia.
Joel Brooks:He's gonna have all of these going on and on and on. And all of them are gonna send, big time. And God will correct them each time. God's steadfast love will be towards them each time. And this goes on for 400 years, the dynasty of David.
Joel Brooks:And then, it looks like it dies. The people of Israel put into exile. And there's no one sitting on this room. And now, for the first time, the people are beginning to wonder, did the pro did the promise of God fail? And then, God, what's in the prophets?
Joel Brooks:He especially he'd send Isaiah, and he's like, God's word never fails. I know it looks like, you know, that the tree of David was just chopped off. But come here. I want you to look. There's life in that stump.
Joel Brooks:That's what he says. He says, because when you look into the stump, can you see a little green shoot coming up? There's still life in the line of David. And then, when they have to wait another 4 or 500 years until that shoot really starts springing up until we come and we see Jesus, the son of David. I love the story of Mark chapter 10.
Joel Brooks:There's a there's a blind man. His name is Bartimaeus, and he's sitting there. And Jesus there's a huge commotion around people. Everybody's screaming and crying. And and and Jesus is just he's he's just having to move through it all.
Joel Brooks:But this one person gets Jesus' attention. He's blind. And he cries out this, Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stops. When he hears that title, son of David, he stops and he goes to this man.
Joel Brooks:Jesus recognized that that is the title. And And when this man said, son of David, have mercy on me, he was expecting, he was expressing a kind of faith. And who would be this coming king? Not just a king to sit on a throne, but a king that could bring healing, make the lame jump, make the blind see, even raise the dead. And Jesus healed this man.
Joel Brooks:Jesus was the son of David, the coming king who would come and restore all things. And that's our hope. He's a real king from the real line of David. He has come. He has defeated sin.
Joel Brooks:He has defeated death. He will restore all things. Our hope is not that someday we die and we float around in disembodied spirits forever, you know, playing a harp. It is rooted in this. We will have real physical resurrected bodies.
Joel Brooks:We will live in a real kingdom where we will be under the reign of a real king, Jesus, forever. Let's pray to him. Jesus, all of history is moving somewhere. It's not without aim. It's not without purpose.
Joel Brooks:It is moving to where you return and you sit down on your throne, the throne that you have promised that you will sit down on and reign forever and ever and ever. We long for that day when you come as king and restore all things. Lord Jesus, I pray that you would firmly ground this hope deep in our hearts. Thank you for being the God who gives and who gives and who gives for all of eternity you give. And we pray this in your name, Jesus.
Joel Brooks:Amen.
