The Lord's Covenant With David

INTRO

First Chronicles 17 is going to feel like a repeat of 2 Samuel 7. When you compare the texts of the two chapters, they are almost identical. Remember, our phrase for 1 Chronicles is Son of David. This is a key chapter in the Old Testament. Even though we’ve looked at this account before, today we’ll look at it from a different perspective. We’ll focus on the Davidic covenant.

TEACHING

1 Chronicles 17:1–3: Wolfgang Roth said, “David completed what Joshua had begun: the taking possession of Canaan.”¹Living in such an incredible house implied David was living in wealth and comfort. David told Nathan he was troubled because he lived in wealth while God lived in a tent. Psalm 132:1-5 records David’s desire and commitment to find a dwelling place “for the Mighty One of Jacob.” Nathan immediately told David to do what was on his heart. But as a prophet, a mighty man of God, when someone asks you for counsel, always remember to be slow to speak a prophetic word. In this case, Nathan spoke quickly, without consulting the Lord. Later that night, the Lord came to Nathan to correct him. James 1:19 urges believers to be quick to hear and slow to speak. This instruction counters our natural inclination to just spit out an answer without first asking God what He wants us to say. Sometimes this gets us in trouble. When we hear people releasing a word from God, sometimes we have to wonder if they really inquired of the Lord before speaking. This is why people don’t trust prophetic words today. In this case, David had no reason to doubt Nathan’s word.

1 Chronicles 17:3: Thankfully, Nathan was open to God’s correction. After coming to terms with God’s correction, Nathan humbled himself and returned to David with God’s instructions. This is the kind of leadership people want to be under—the leadership of someone who can say, “I messed up, and I need to correct this because this is what God showed me.”

1 Chronicles 17:4-6: God gave Nathan a timeline and pointed out He had moved from tent to tent and tabernacle to tabernacle, since He had brought Israel out of Egypt. God moved from the tent of meeting to the Mosaic tabernacle and eventually to David’s tabernacle. In all those moves, God never once spoke to anyone about where He should dwell. Likewise, what did Jesus do in the New Testament? He lived as a nomad, a man who didn’t have a place to call home. Why is it so important to understand this about God? To understand we can’t put God in a box. God was never in one place, but our mentality is to put God in a temple or church, so we understand the role we have to play. But when God is constantly on the move and present, everywhere we go, then we might have to act like it. This is what makes it so hard to follow the Lord. God wanted to honor David’s desire to build a house for Him, but it wouldn’t happen the way David wanted.

1 Chronicles 17:7-10a: God said He took David from a shepherd and made him king over Israel. Remember God delivered this word because Nathan humbled himself to listen; humility can lead to revival. God was with David and destroyed his enemies. God promised to establish a place for Israel to live where they would not be disturbed. Again, God shows He is in control, always directing and guiding and leading His people.

1 Chronicles 17:10b-15: Catch this: a house will be built. God promised to build a house for David. God promised that when David died, He would bring forth a descendant, one of his sons, and establish his kingdom (v. 11). Several things can be seen in this prophetic word. One, God would raise up a son from David—Solomon. In 1 Chronicles 22:6-10, David tells his son, Solomon, to build a house for the Lord. David wanted to do this, but God wouldn’t allow it because David had shed much blood, as a man of war. Comparing these passages, we learn God told Nathan that David’s son would build a house for Him(1 Chronicles 22:11-13). Not only would God establish a kingdom for David’s son, but the son would build a house for God. The word for “house” can also mean “dynasty.” God promised to establish his throne forever. Our phrase for 2 Samuel is Eternal Throne. The Eternal Throne would come through the Son of David—Jesus. Compare this promise to 2 Samuel 7:16—you might as well be reading the same verse. This is an awesome picture of the Son of David who will establish God’s house and rule from an Eternal Throne. God promised He would never take His faithful love from this Son.

The lineage of David constantly points to the coming king—the Son of David, the King of kings Himself— Jesus! God promised this would happen—it could not fail! It was not conditional on anything David did except his complete reliance on God’s promise.

This Davidic covenant was described seven times in 1 and 2 Chronicles.

• God spoke to Nathan, and then Nathan spoke to David (1 Chronicles 17).
• David spoke to Solomon (1 Chronicles 22).
• David again spoke to Solomon (1 Chronicles 28).
• Solomon spoke to the nation of Israel (2 Chronicles 6).
• God spoke to Solomon (2 Chronicles 7).
• Abijah spoke to Jeroboam (2 Chronicles 13).
• The chronicler commented on the Davidic covenant (2 Chronicles 21).

When God releases a word, it will stick.

1 Chronicles 17:16–19: After David heard this, he sat in God’s presence and wondered who he was that God would do this. As Warren Wiersbe said, this became David’s prayer of thanksgiving for present favor.²David recognized God had spoken about his house in the distant future (v. 17) and that God had made all of these great promises according to His will. As Nathan spoke the prophetic word, David received it because he recognized it was according to God’s will. God made many promises regarding Judah. In Genesis 49:10, Jacob blessed his son Judah, by saying, “The scepter will not depart from Judah or the staff from between his feet.” This meant Judah’s rule (favor) would last forever – the scepter would not depart from Judah because of the Son of David – by Solomon, and ultimately, through Jesus, the Messiah.

1 Chronicles 17:20-22: David continued to praise God: “There is no one like You, and there is no God besides You” (v. 20). Wiersbe pointed out that David shifted from thanksgiving in the present to praising God for what He had done in the past.³

1 Chronicles 17:23–27: David shifted again, now making a petition for God’s future fulfillment of His promises.⁴David pleaded with God to make the things He promised come true. Once David heard the word, he went to God in prayer. Nelson’s Commentary said the house of David would always be in the royal line and the right to rule would always belong to David’s offspring. This promise would last forever, even when they messed up.⁵

CLOSING

How do you receive a word from God? What can we learn from David?6 First, record it and then listen to it. When we talk about prophetic words today, we’re not talking about new Scripture but about words believers speak to each other (1 Corinthians 14:3). Ask God what He meant by that prophetic word. Ask what your part is and what God’s part is. The key step is testing the prophetic word to see if it aligns with Scripture. Second Timothy 3:16 explains why we have to test things with Scripture. First Thessalonians 5:19–21a tells us to be open to what God is speaking into our lives but to test all things. Our job is to test the word of God that comes into our lives by making sure it aligns with Scripture, then hold on to what is good and stay away from evil (1 Thessalonians 5:21b–22).

In Philippians 4:8, we’re told to keep our eyes on things that are right, honorable, and true. Prophetic words can be from the Lord. We know the words David heard were accurate because Luke 1:31–33 tells us Jesus was given the throne of His father David. Jesus was the Son of David. And because of Jesus, we can receive spiritual blessings. Jesus promised a spiritual kingdom was coming through Him. All of these things align with what David heard in 2 Samuel 7 and 1 Chronicles 17. The common theme here is the Son of David is fulfilled through Jesus Christ.