Month: May 2021

188. House, Kingdom, Throne

2 Samuel 7:16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.

The Messianic Prophecy for David continues. The Lord promises to David that his house, kingdom and throne will be established forever. The promise is for David: his house, his kingdom, and his throne will be established forever.

However, the promise is actually true for all of us believers in Christ. God promises to each of us a house, a kingdom and a throne. It is the word “forever” that betrays the wider and deeper meaning. The house, kingdom and throne of David did not last forever. The Babylonians ended all three in 587 BC. To be a true fulfilled promise it had to go one forever without end. This means it had to be a spiritual promise that included the Christ and all believers in Him. The Son of David continues the line of David, the kingdom of David, and the kingship of David. It is the Messiah and His Kingdom and His rule that would last forever.

In Daniel 2, Daniel told the king his dream and its interpretation: he saw a statue made of various metals. A large stone broke the image in pieces and the stone became a great mountain and filled the earth. The statue represented the present and succeeding earthly kingdoms, even empires. The stone represents the Messiah and His kingdom that smashes all earthly kingdoms and is established over all. Daniel 2:44: “The God of heaven will set up will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever.” Revelation 11:15 finishes the prophecy: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Jesus came to earth and proclaimed the Kingdom, became Lord of all, and He rules it today and He will reign forever without end. Jesus is the dynasty of David, He is the Kingdom, and His throne is forever. We are united with Jesus by faith and so the promise of an eternal kingdom applies to us. We are in it, we rule with Jesus, and the world is nothing to us.

187. A Throne and a Kingdom

2 Samuel 7:13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

The Messianic Prophecy given to David comes after David declares that he wants to build a “house” (temple) for the Lord. God replies that He will build a “house” (dynasty) for David. God did establish a royal dynasty of kings from David’s line, but it only lasted about 400 years. Then came the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the loss of the kingdom, and the Exile.

But the prophecy states that the throne of his kingdom will be established forever. The “his” of this promise is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, born as a human descendant of King David. God will establish the throne of His kingdom forever. The “forever” could not refer to any fully human descendant or to any earthly kingdom. The throne and the kingdom refers to the descendant of David’s line who is also God, the only thing that lasts forever, except for those to whom God gives His eternal life. Jesus is the Son of David and the Son of God.

The Eternal Kingdom over which the Messiah rules is the invisible Kingdom of God which enters into and takes over the hearts of His believers. There Christ reigns. The eternal kingdom is now the Church Militant, for now it is only spiritual, and one day it will become in glory the Church Triumphant, visible for all to see forever.

We Christians eagerly long for this Kingdom, while at the same time we already see it and possess it by faith. This “already/not yet” tension fills our days. We actually have what we don’t yet see. This is the Kingdom that is promised to all those who are followers of Jesus. The Kingdom and the King of it is our Promise. Jesus proclaimed: “The kingdom of God is here; repent and believe the Gospel!” Then He went about establishing that kingdom in the spirits of all who would receive Him, and He is still doing just that today. The promise: “You are God’s forever people. Jesus is Lord of this people. Believe the Gospel and let the kingdom take over your life.”

186. Saved from Enemies

2 Samuel 3:18 Now then do it: for the Lord hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies.

Abner is seeking the get the elders of Israel to really around David and make him their king. He repeats a word of the Lord about David, and unwittingly declares a promise for all believers in Jesus Christ. And the Bible is full of the promise of salvation. The salvation Jesus earned for us and gave to us is salvation from our enemies. The war between good and evil is won by Jesus’ death and life. Our spiritual enemies have been defeated and they have no more power over us.

The Bible Story rewords the promise this way: “By the hand of my servant Jesus I will save you, my people, out of the hand of your present problem and out of the hand of all your enemies.” It is, of course, the promised Messiah who will come from heaven to earth to save us from Sin, Death, Hell, and the power of the Devil. Our Enemy surrounds us looking like the world and our own sinful, selfish flesh. We need a Champion, a Warrior, a Commander, a King to save us. We have one. This is how God loved us: He gave us one. 

David was a type, a figure, a shadow of the greater Son of David, showing us in physical terms what the spiritual reality is. Jesus is the Servant by the hand of which God saves His people. The angel told Joseph, “You will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” Jesus is the one whom the whole history of David points to, and He is the one who is born into the world out of the history of Israel.

We apply the promise to our hearts and lives daily through repentance and faith in the Gospel. We believe God gave us Jesus to save us. We believe that we are under the threat and control of enemies, from which we need salvation. That story is not just history; that story plays out in our everyday life when our Lord deals with the issues that threaten us. David and Jesus were men after the heart of God. When we believe in Jesus we also know the heart of God: it is total, absolute, unconditional, and overwhelming Love.

185. The Battle is the Lord’s

1 Samuel 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hands.

The context for this promise is the story of David and Goliath. David confidently in faith says this to Goliath the giant. The promise is: The battle is the Lord’s; I don’t fight my spiritual battles alone; almighty God is fighting on my side. We have enemies and we fight battles, but the battle belongs to the Lord. There is no indication in the Bible that this promise is just for some battles, but we can believe that every struggle we face is the Lord’s battle, because we belong to the Lord as His children, or His sheep. He knows we are weak and helpless alone against the lies, temptations, and scares of our enemies.

We take this as a promise, and we realize that we don’t have to face any battle, trial, struggle, problem, obstacle, frustration, etc., alone without God’s help. We learn battle lessons from this story. The Lord saves us not with sword or spear, but always through His Word and Promise. And it often is through something right at hand that we may not readily think of. In this case it was a stone. David already had the sling, and that was all he had except for a shepherd’s staff, and the stones were plentiful all around. David still had to do something, pick up a stone and sling it, but it was really the Lord who aimed the stone and struck Goliath so that he fell. 

We may be surprised what word the Lord may use to defeat the spiritual Strong Men in our lives, but with God it is always at hand. The Lord saves not with sword or spear. He saves with the innocent blood of the Son of Man, and in our lives He uses that Gospel sword to save us.

A stone doesn’t look like much in the face of the giant’s huge spear. The “little word” that God gives us doesn’t look like much in the face of the monstrous problem in front of us. God gives us, and we will use, truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. These things we have, and with these things we pray. Believe, pray, fight, win, and evil flees and falls.

184. Lord Looks at the Heart

1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.

When Samuel went to anoint David, first he looked at seven sons of Jesse, but the Lord told him that none of these were chosen. Finally, the eighth son, David, came in from the sheep pasture, and God said, “Anoint him, for this is he.” All seven other sons of Jesse looked good in outward appearance, but God chose the eighth son, David. God chose David to be anointed king of Israel because of this word: “The Lord looks on the heart.” God sees the invisible; He knows the inner man; He regards the spirit of a person; He looks on the heart. When God saw the heart of David He saw that he was a “man after My heart.”

We may take this as a promise. God promises to look on the heart. Humans cannot see the heart; therefore, they are not allowed to judge anyone, for they do not know the mind, heart, and motives of anyone else, much less their own. But we have this promise that God looks at the heart and sees what is there. And his judgment is right and righteous. Jesus knows what is in man. Jesus knows his sheep. We need to remember this promise when we ourselves, and the world around us, looks bleak, dark, ugly and nasty. We have a pure heart because we have a pure Jesus in it. That is what God sees. We need to remember this word when we become complacent, proud and smug, and things look rosy. We have the sinful, corrupt heart of a sinner. God also sees that, but, God be praised, He forgives, cleanses, and creates a new heart, full of Jesus.

God does not see our inner goodness, for He tells us that there is none. But in the Christian He sees only the goodness of Jesus, the righteousness of God, and the purity of the Holy Spirit. Believers in Jesus are “after God’s heart.” We don’t see it, but God does, and so we believe it. True self-esteem comes from esteeming highly the Father, Son, and Spirit who lives within, not from esteeming the sinful self.

Because we do not see the heart, God condemns gossip, criticism and a judgmental spirit. We may judge the sin as sin, but not the sinner. We regard believers as righteous because of God in them; we regard unbelievers as potentially good because they may be converted by faith in Christ.

David’s heart was right, for He trusted in God. David was a chief of sinners, but he repented and received forgiveness and “a right spirit within him.” Open your heart to God and let Him look. Believe what and Who He sees there.

183. Lord will not Forsake You

1 Samuel 12:22 For the Lord will not forsake his people for his great name’s sake: because it hath pleased the Lord to make you his people.

When Samuel was getting on in years and Saul was installed as king after the desire of the people he gave a speech rehearsing God’s history with warning and promise. The unconditional promise comes in the familiar words, “Not Forsake.” God will not forsake His people. God chose to make this people His People. And He will not leave them abandoned. He is grieved by their continued unbelief, sin and rebellion, so consequences and judgments will come; but He will not forever forsake them for He must be true to His character and His name.

This word comes at a time when Samuel had warned them about wanting a king, because it was an implicit rejection of the Lord as their King. The Lord is displeased with the people because of their choice to have a king rule and fight for them. But He is still pleased with them for He made a promise. We sense a conflict in God’s feelings (if there could be such a thing) between His pleasure and displeasure over the people of God. 

So, is God pleased or displeased with Israel for wanting a king? It’s hard to say, and so we say both are true. But then, when we think about our own lives, we are not always so certain about whether God is pleased or displeased with me. The truth is that He is pleased and displeased both at the same time. Our puny minds can’t quickly unravel this question. The “saint-sinner” paradox is not so easy. God is pleased with me as a person whom He loves all the time; while at the same time, He is displeased with my sinful words and actions.“He loves the sinner but hates the sin.” We have a hard time doing that, but for God it is easy.

God resolved His dilemma by sending His Son, “in whom He is well-pleased.” By faith in Christ I identify with Him, become united in Him, and so God is well pleased with me on account of Christ. Since Jesus Christ, the innocent Man and Son of God, died for my sins God can rightly judge my sin and be merciful to me the sinner. Therefore, no matter how badly I may feel, how depressed, how alone, how guilty, how down, I can be sure of this one thing: God will never, ever, forsake me. I can count on that promise, no matter what. When I think about what I’ve done I am downcast and sad; when I think about what Christ has done I am uplifted and overjoyed. That is Gospel Truth.

182. The Lord will Deliver You

1 Samuel 7:3 And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only: and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

The prophet Samuel speaks a word of conditional promise from the Lord to the people of Israel. The Lord will deliver you from your enemies if you 1) return to the Lord, 2) put away your idols, 3) prepare your hearts unto the Lord, 4) and serve Him only. The four conditions listed combine to say one thing: repent and believe. Turn to God alone and keep the First Commandment. If you do that, then God will deliver. Samuel sacrifices and prays, “Deliver us from evil.”

This is the background: Israel had superstitiously taken the Ark of the Covenant into battle. When they lost the battle the Philistines took the Ark. The Philistines were struck with something like the bubonic plague, most likely, and their idol god, Dagon, fell down twice. They sent the Ark back to Israel, and the places where it was taken were blessed.

Samuel sacrificed and prayed. God answered the prayer and gave this prophecy. Then the Philistines were defeated and driven back by God’s miraculous deliverance. Then the land enjoyed peace under the leadership of Samuel.

The people had to learn the lesson that the invisible God is their God, and He wants their heart worship and trust. He does not want superstitious holy objects and outward ritual. He wants the heart fully devoted to Him. The object of faith and worship is to be the Lord alone, not idols or other gods. The ark is not a god or an idol. Superstition and ritual will not help. Only the one true God will deliver. Believe Him.

The lesson for us: God does not want your good works and outward show; He wants you; He wants your whole heart; He wants you to trust in Him alone. Then pray the Lord’s Prayer (Deliver us from evil). He hears your pray and delivers you from your spiritual enemies because He is good, not because you are good. Trust the Promise. God will deliver, because of Jesus.

181. Honor the Honorers

1 Samuel 2:30 Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed that thy house and house of thy father should walk before me for ever; but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.

This is a purely conditional promise: God promises to honor those that honor Him. If you honor me, then I will honor you. We honor God by believing in Him and turning to Him in repentance. Despising God is hating Him, and we hate God by ignoring Him by unbelief and neglecting to repent and receive forgiveness.

This prophecy is given to the young man Samuel regarding the High Priest Eli. Eli did not honor the Lord by allowing his sons, Hophni and Phineas, to do evil in their tabernacle service. They would be killed and Eli would die, and his priestly line would die out. The prophecy came true. The condition of the promise was not fulfilled: they did not honor the Lord, but they despised Him and His Word. Therefore, the Lord lightly esteemed Eli and his sons. The young Samuel had to deliver these hard words to Eli, which he did.

The embedded promise, however, is a principle that holds true for all of us: ”them that honor Me I will honor.” The premier example is David, who honored the Lord; he was a “man after the heart of the Lord.” Though David was a gross sinner, he honored the Lord in his heart by genuine faith and devotion. He sincerely repented of his sins and received forgiveness from a gracious God. He was restored again into God’s grace, but he suffered terrible consequences afterward for his sinful behavior. Nevertheless, God honored David as he honored God. The great Messianic prophecy was given to David that out of his descendants would come the Messiah. He would be born, live, die and rise again to become King of the eternal kingdom of God. He would rule God’s people forever. Thus did God honor the one who honored Him.

The Bible trots out a parade of godly men and women who honored the Lord, and God honored them. It is true that none of the great heroes of faith were sinless, but they all believed God, and He counted it to them as righteousness (a great honor). God is looking for men and women who are people after God’s heart. The honor He grants is not worldly honor, but it is honor in God’s esteem. This honor will become visible to the entire universe in eternity. 

The wonderful truth of the promise is that each common believer in Christ is special to God and honored by the Lord. This special honor does not come just to those heroes of faith and men and women of God who have done great works. The honor for each believer is unique for that person. Christ is already honored with the highest place, and we are united with Him.

180. Enemies will be Shattered

1 Samuel 2:10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.

The final promise is: We Win! The enemies of the Lord, and our spiritual enemies, will be broken to pieces, shattered to smithereens, ground to dust. Revelation 20: The devil, the beast, and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. Death and Hell are thrown into the lake of fire. The Word of God and fire from heaven will strike down and burn up all Enemies at the Last Great Battle. Then they are dispensed with forever.

The victories of Christ at the Cross and the Tomb, and the Final Victory at the End of the Age, are prophesied here through Hannah’s Song, as she is inspired by the Spirit to promise us. We are in a war, and we feel it every day, but we are winning even though there are times when it feels like we are losing. The Great Reversal is real. The Victory is ours. The Lord will absolutely and finally judge the ends of the earth, and all the enemies of God and the good are condemned forever.

The Lord will win over the Enemies of the soul and judge all sin and evil by giving strength to His King and exalting the power of His Anointed One. The King and the Anointed of God is the Person of Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God and Son of Man. The Lord exalts His “horn.’ A Horn is a symbol of power and might. The power and strength of Jesus is the total and unconditional Love that dies for us. His power is the eternal Life of God that rises from the dead in a violent overthrow of all Sin and of Death and of the power of the Devil.

It may look to us like Sin and Evil are gaining ground in our world over against God and Good. It may feel at times like the devil is winning the battle for our soul. Death never goes away and it will get us in the end, for sure. But we fear not because we have the Promise: the adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces. That’s what the first resurrection (of Jesus) and the Final Judgment (by Jesus) is all about: Total Victory over all that is against us and against our good. When we pray, “Thy Kingdom Come,” we don’t realize what awesome power we are unleashing. Believe it!

179. Lord sets up Princes and Thrones

1 Samuel 2:8 He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and he hath set the world upon them.

The promise of God’s Word to us is that the Lord will set us up among princes and make us inherit the throne of glory. This is fairly unbelievable, that poor, lowly, miserable sinners like us should be set up as kings on thrones, but this is precisely predicted and promised by Jesus and in the Book of Revelation. We will sit with Christ on His throne in glory. Hannah sings and prophesies that the Lord will lift up and raise the poor and the beggar from the dust and the dunghill. This is where we are as sinners in a sinful world, on a dung hill. We need the Law to reveal that to us, and so we repent in dust and ashes. We need the Gospel to show us how far up the Lord Jesus Christ will carry us, from the lowest place to the highest place in God’s invisible Creation. Mary sings, “He has exalted those of humble estate.” Christ has promised for us what we call the Great Reversal. It is reported that Luther’s last words were, “It is true, we are beggars.”

We don’t know exactly what and how we shall rule as kings on thrones, but we know that our God and Father has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We shall “sit on thrones.” When we were baptized and brought to faith in Christ God has lifted us up to inherit the throne of glory. Through being humbled and trusting in Christ through the Gospel we are granted what Adam was tempted to gain through the lies of Satan: “to be like God.” Amazingly, God had already given Adam (and us) the likeness of God, to reflect His glory and goodness. But Adam couldn’t see the likeness, so he believed Satan’s lie according to earthly, visual sight, and He sinned and fell.

The promise of being princes on thrones has been fulfilled in Christ, who has restored to us the image and likeness of God in the spirit. And He gave us the highest places in the spiritual world. We do indeed rule with love, grace, forgiveness and kindness to all. Oh, what God has promised, and what God has wrought!

What are the “pillars of the earth?” They are most likely the principles of life on earth revealed in God’s Word, the Law and the Gospel. The Law is the good life, at which we failed; the Gospel is the eternal life, which Jesus gives for free. Christ is the Foundation