The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12, 15, 17)

The Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19, sections of Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy)

II. The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:1-17)

2 Samuel 7:1-17 - 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, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have 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 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. And I have been with you wherever you went and 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 my people Israel and 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 my people Israel. 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, 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. 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.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David.

2 Samuel 23:5 - “For does not my house stand so with God? For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.

Psalm 89:34-36 - I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips. Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.

2 Samuel 7:16 - And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

“The Mosaic covenant offered a specific generation of Abraham’s descendants the opportunity of experiencing very specific aspects of that blessing (see Deut. 28) in the definite present, the here and now. But that blessing was dependent on Israel’s obedience to the law of the covenant. Disobedience to the law would not only remove the experience of blessing, but would bring God’s curse upon them-- the radical contrary of a blessed life (see the curses listed in Deut. 28)” (Darrell Bock and Craig Blaising)

A. The Importance of the Davidic Covenant:

"God's establishment with His covenant with David represents one of the theological high points of the OT Scriptures. This key event builds on the preceding covenants and look forward to the ultimate establishment of God's reign on the earth.

Ronald Youngblood's understanding is that 2 Samuel 7 is 'the center and focus of. . . the Deuteronomic history itself.'

Walter Brueggemann regards it as the 'dramatic and theological center of the entire Samuel corpus' and as 'the most crucial theological statement in the Old Testament.'

Robert Gordon called this chapter the 'ideological summit. . . in the Old Testament as a whole.'

John Levenson contended that God's covenant with David 'receives more attention in the Hebrew Bible than any covenant except the Siniatic. . .

Walter Kaiser suggests at least four great moments in biblical history that supply both the impetus for progressive revelation and the glue for its organic and continuous nature: (1) the promise given to Abraham in Genesis 12, 15, 17; (2) the promise declared to David in 2 Samuel 7; (3) the promise outlined in the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31, and (4) the day when many of these promises found initial realization in the death and resurrection of Christ." (Michael Grisanti, "The Davidic Covenant", The Master's Seminary Journal)

B. Old Testament Emphasis on the Davidic Covenant:

Genesis 17:5-6 - No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you.

Genesis 49:10 - The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Ruth 1:1 - In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons.

Ruth 4:17 - And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

1 Samuel 17:12 - Now David was the son of an Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, named Jesse, who had eight sons. In the days of Saul the man was already old and advanced in years.

2 Samuel 7:12-13 - 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.

2 Kings 24:12-13 - The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold.

2 Samuel 7:14 - 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,

Far Fulfillment:
2 Samuel 7:13 - I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

2 Samuel 7:16 - And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’”

1 Chronicles 17:11-12 - When your days are fulfilled to walk with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, one of your own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for me, and I will establish his throne forever.

Isaiah 9:6-7 - For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Psalm 2:6-8 - “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”

Psalm 110:1-2 - A Psalm of David. The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies!

Zechariah 9:9-10 - Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

C. Four Elements of the Davidic Covenant:

1. David's name would be made great.

2 Samuel 7:9 - And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. 2. A place will be given to the people of Israel.

2 Samuel 7:10 - And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more.

2. Israel will be given rest from all her enemies.
2 Samuel 7:10-11 - And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. 3

3. A kingdom will be given to David forever.
Psalm 132:11 - The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: “One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.

Psalm 89:35-37 - Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David. His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me. Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

D. The Hope Conveyed in the Davidic Covenant

Jeremiah 23:5-6 - “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

Isaiah 11:1-4 - There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Isaiah 11:5-10 - Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

Jeremiah 33:15-17 - In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’ “For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel,

"God's promise to raise up a descendant is unconditional. But a continuous, uninterrupted reign is not. That is conditioned upon the faithfulness of Israel's kings. God's intention to bless descendants of Abraham is firm, but whether or not He will give certain blessings to a particular generation of those descendants at a specific time in history was conditioned by the terms of the Mosaic Covenant." (Craig Blaising)

Amos 9:11-15 - “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the LORD who does this. “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman shall overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it. I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine, and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted out of the land that I have given them,” says the LORD your God.

Psalm 72

Psalm 72:1-8 - Of Solomon. Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!

May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations! May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!

Verse 11- May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!

Verse 16 - May there be an abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!

Psalm 72:17-20 - May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed! Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen! The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

"Thus, at the close of the Old Testament period, the covenant of David, with its promise of a royal dynasty and a kingdom involving a place or land, remained intact. It was the basis for the messianic eschatological hope." (Robert Saucy)

"Although this psalm may have been written at the beginning of Solomon's reign, it envisions ideals never fully realized in Israel's history." (Michael Grisanti)

III. How do the Covenants Relate to Each Other?

A. The Davidic Covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant

"As seen in the. . . thematic parallels, the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants share the motifs of international reputation, land inheritance, and descendants.

[Alva] McClain suggests that the Davidic Covenant 'consisted of a reaffirmation of the regal terms of the original Abrahamic Covenant; with the further provision that these covenanted rights will now attach permanently to the historic house and succession of David; and also that by God's grace these rights, even if historically interrupted for a season, will at last in a future kingdom be restored to the nation in perpetuity with no further possibility of interruption.

[Eugene] Merrill points out that the Davidic Covenant is theologically rooted in the Abrahamic Covenant rather than the Mosaic Covenant. He contends that 'there are important connections and correspondences between the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants. This is most apparent in Ruth itself. The narrator is writing among other reasons, to clarify that the Davidic dynasty did not spring out of the conditional Mosaic covenant, but rather finds its historical and theological roots in the promises to the patriarchs. Israel as the servant people of Yahweh might rise and fall, be blessed or cursed, but the Davidic dynasty would remain intact forever because God had pledged to produce through Abraham a line of kings that would find its historical locus in Israel, but would have ramifications extending far beyond Israel."

Paul Benware: "The Davidic covenant, which was first given in 2 Samuel 7, is an expansion and development of the 'seed' promises of the Abrahamic covenant. In the Abrahamic covenant, Abraham was told that he would have a son through Sarah and that a great nation would eventually emerge. He was also told that "nations" and "kings" would come from him (Genesis 17). This covenant commitment by God was narrowed as time went on, focusing on Isaac and then Jacob. Later the promise of a kingdom and a throne was limited to the tribe of Judah when Jacob prophesied that 'the scepter shall not depart from Judah" (Gen. 49:10). The Davidic covenant further narrows the focus to one family within the tribe of Judah, namely the family of David."

"To Abraham, the Lord had said, 'I will make you a great nation . . . and make your name great” (Gen. 12:2). The promise of the great name has now passed specifically to the Davidic king. His name will be great. And since he is the king, the ruler of the nation, the greatness of his name translates into the greatness of the nation. Consequently, we see how under his rule the Abrahamic promise of the great nation and the great name come together."

Craig Blaising: Here is the relationship between the Davidic and Abrahamic covenants. On the one hand, the Davidic covenant is part of the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant. A blessed king from the line of David is one way in which the promise to bless descendants of Abraham will manifest itself. On the other hand, the Davidic covenant provides the means by which the Abrahamic blessing will be fulfilled for all descendants. The blessing for the many will be mediated by the rulership of the one, the king. Through his action, enemies of the blessing will be subdued, the nations will be pacified, and Israel will be established in the worship of God.

B. The Davidic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant

Grisanti: "The Mosaic Covenant is obligatory, bilateral, and conditional. The Davidic Covenant is promissory, unilateral, and ultimately unconditional. The Mosaic Covenant is like a treaty while the Davidic Covenant is comparable to a grant. Under the Mosaic Covenant, the failure by the Israelites to live in conformity to the covenant stipulations can occasion covenant curse and the loss of covenant favor, including tenure in the land of promise. however, according to the Davidic Covenant, the treacherous conduct of anyone or series of Davidic rulers does not hazard the ultimate realization of its provisions.

The reigns of Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Josiah (2 Kgs 18-23) provide a vivid demonstration of the relationship between the Mosaic and Davidic covenants.

The stipulations of the Mosaic Covenant provide the “measuring stick” for the reign of each of these kings (2 Kgs 18:6; 21:7-9; 23:24-25). The function of the God-fearing king was to lead Israel in keeping covenant and in relying on God for deliverance. As Gerbrandt points out, the king “was to lead Israel by being the covenant administrator; then he could trust Yahweh to deliver. At the heart of this covenant was Israel’s obligation to be totally loyal to Yahweh.” The proper role of the Davidic king was to lead his people in keeping Torah. Herein lies an important convergence between the Mosaic and Davidic covenants. The Davidic ruler should epitomize the standards of the Mosaic Covenant, even though his conformity or lack of conformity to those standards does not determine whether or not Yahweh will one day bring to realization the provisions of the Davidic Covenant."

Craig Blaising:

“The Davidic covenant was given under the dispensation of the Mosaic covenant. As a grant covenant tied to the future fulfillment of the grant covenant given to the patriarchs, its ultimate fulfillment looks beyond the Mosaic dispensation. However, the experience of the blessings of the Davidic covenant during the time of the Mosaic dispensation was conditioned by the Mosaic covenant. There was even a form of the Davidic covenant which was conditional and which correlates with the conditional nature of the Mosaic covenant itself.

Under the Mosaic dispensation, the Abrahamic blessing is offered in terms of the specific blessings of the Mosaic covenant. Consequently, during that dispensation, the Davidic king is blessed and brings blessing to others precisely in terms of the Mosaic blessings spelled out in Deuteronomy 28.

We see here that idolatry and disobedience on the part of the king would bring the ultimate curse of the Mosaic covenant—expulsion from the land. We also see the implication that the people would follow the example of the king in covenant faithlessness, thus showing the king’s power to influence the religious worship of the nation as a whole.

Therefore none of the sinful kings that came from David's line could completely fulfill the terms of the Davidic Covenant. They could not fulfill the Davidic Covenant because they could never keep the terms of the Mosaic Covenant.”

IV. The Davidic Covenant in the New Testament
Matthew 1:1 - The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Matthew 1:16 - and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

Matthew 1:5-6 - Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah,

Matthew 1:16 - and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.

“The Son of David”
Matthew 12:23 - And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?”

Matthew 21:9 - And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Matthew 22:41-42 - Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.”

Matthew 22:43-46 - He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet”’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.

Luke 1:26-27 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David.

Luke 3:31-32 - the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz,

Luke 1:30-32 - And the angel said to her, “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 you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

Luke 1:67-80 - And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.

Offer of the Kingdom to Israel

Luke 3:3-4 - And he went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Matthew 3:1-2 - In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:17 - From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Revelation 19:11-20 - Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Genesis 49:10 - The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Psalm 2:10-12 - Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.