Tag: daily devotional

God’s Reward for David’s Love – 2 Samuel 7

In the seventh chapter of the book of Second Samuel, David looks around and sees how much the Lord has blessed him, and how rich and comfortable his life is.  After many years of hiding in the wilderness, being pursued, and having to make war.  David has finally been granted a place of rest.  He is no longer living in caves or tents.  He has a house made of cedar and it is filled with the spoils of war and is a vision of success.  David knows that this is all because of the provisions of God.  David loves God and does not see where he should have to live in a tent, if his servant does not have to live in one.  So he proposes to build a great house for the Lord to rest in. 

God is moved by David’s love and concern for him.  The Lord says that he does not dwell in buildings, or tents, or things made by man.  He has never required a permanent residence to be built for him.  His only requirement to the king, and any other leader, was that they feed his children, Israel, and to keep his commandments.  Still David’s desire was sincere, and that moved the heart of the Lord God to compassion for David.  So God gives David a special dispensation of Grace.  In this dispensation he reconfirms his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel).  He gives David an eternal promise.

This was the promise that God gave David, God would honor David’s love for him by establishing his throne forever.  Israel would benefit from the desire of David to build a permanent residence for the Lord, by the Lord building a permanent residence for Israel. The Lord said, “Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more…” (v.10).  The Lord even promised of a seed to come through David’s lineage who would build a house for the Lord and whose kingdom would be established forever.  God said that he would be his father (the seed’s) and that he would be my son.  He said that this future ruler would be chastise by a rod and have the stripes of the children of men.  He would be merciful in judgement, and the house and throne of David would be established forever through this king. The prophet Isaiah spoke, “In mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in ruth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgement, and hasting righteousness.”. (Isaiah 16:5) So the Lord God was moved by David’s love for him and his desire to give the Lord a place to rest, that God in turn gave David and Israel a place to rest. 


God confirmed his commitment to Israel through his promise to establish the house of David forever, through the coming Messiah. The promised seed from Genesis would be delivered through the lineage of King David. The grace of God was shown in this dispensation.  There was no condition of this promise.  God gave this assurance to David because he loved David’s love towards him.  We can see that God keeps his promise to David even though Israel violates their covenant with God.  Perhaps we can see a little of why Jesus now intercedes before the throne of God the Father for us.  We are established in the covenant that God made with himself in the blood of Jesus.  Because the Father made this promise to Jesus, that those who believe in him would have eternal life, so the model of the promise to David.  Israel would be spared because to the promise God made with David.  Now the covenant is no longer necessary for salvation. It is the grace of God towards one who has already please him in love.  So in Ezekiel, even though destruction is warned of Israel, it is for chastisement.  Israel would be redeemed in the end, when this promised seed to David comes to claim his throne and establish his kingdom, forever. “Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.” (Ezekiel 34:22-24).

The Lord uses terms like… “ know that I the LORD their God am with them”… “I am your God”. The Lord tell us through the prophet Ezekiel that he will make the lands of the enemies of King David to be desolate. The Lord says, “And I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword.” ( Ezekiel 35:8).  The Lord also promises restoration of Israel, “And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.” (Ezekiel 36:11)  The Lord even goes further and promises not only to revive their lands and lineages, and to multiply them, but he promises to deliver them from all uncleanliness and to give them new hearts that love the Lord. (36:26) The Lord even promises the resurrection of the dead from Israel. “Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.” (Ezekiel 37:12-14).  Something to consider is what the Lord says concerning King David in Ezekiel 37:24. Ezekiel prophecies saying, “And David my servant shall be king over them…”.  Many interpret this to say that Jesus as the son of David will be the ruler.  But remember, the Lord has just raised all the dead of Israel from the grave.  There is not reason why David could not rule over Israel and still serve the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Leave the Pig Pen Behind

In the gospel of Luke we find a story about a son who had taken his inheritance from the family and went away to a far land.  While there he wasted the inheritance on unwise and questionable living.  Much like many of us do when we first leave home.  When he had run out of money, there was a famine in the land and he was caught with no money, no job, and no way to come home.  Stranded in the this foreign land he took a job as a servant to an unrighteous man who took advantage of him.  After some time of this the young man, out of desperation decided to swallow his pride and return home.

The time away had beaten the young man in more than one way.  His heart was broken and his life was in shambles.  He had no hope, he only wanted to get home and beg his father for mercy and help.  I can think of times in my life when I had ruined all the opportunities that youth had given me, and squandered my money and eventually was left with nothing but burned bridges.  Shamefully I turned to family for help.  Not knowing if they would help, but desperately needing it.

Some of you are very familiar with this story, but I want to concentrate on this one aspect.  When the father saw the young man in the distance, he ran to him.  Then he called his servants and told them to put a robe on him, and a ring on his finger.  This is what I want us to see.  The son had travelled a far way.  His previous job had him living with pigs, and eating the leftovers of what the pigs did not eat.  He was malnourished, unclean, smelling.  Yet his father loved him anyway.  His father did not say, “Oh my, go get a bath, and put on some perfume before you hug me!”  No his father instead ran to him, and kissed him passionately over and over again.

This is the love that God has for us.  He loved us before we were cleansed.  We did not have to clean ourselves up and be presentable before he embraced us.  A lot of Christians will tell you that God loves me just the way I am, and that is true.  He does love us, just the way we are.  But if we look closer at this parable, we see that his father loved his son so much that he did not let him remain unclean.  This is the way our heavenly Father also loves us.  He loves us so much that he cannot leave us in the mire and stench that Jesus saved us from.  He renews our minds and transforms us into his image.

Psalm 3:3 says, “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap”.  In other places in scripture it describes how the Lord brought the writer out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set his feet upon a rock making his footsteps firm (Psalm 40:2).  The Lord wants better for us than to just be saved from hell.  He wants us to be what we were meant to be in Him.

Romans 8:37 explains how that we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. We are more than victorious, more than vanquishers, more than subjugators. Christians need to study scripture and awaken to the truths that God has given us.  We do not need to be sheepish and tied to the things that kept us bound before.  When the son in this story had returned home to his father’s embrace, he had also left the pig pen behind.  He was not living in that filth anymore.  -Amen