Reading for Today:

• 2 Samuel 7:1 Chapter 7 1 And it came to pass, when the king dwelt in his house, and Jehovah had given him rest from all his enemies round about, –8:18
• Psalms 64:1-10 Chapter 64 1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint: Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, From the tumult of the workers of iniquity; 3 Who have whet their tongue like a sword, And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words, 4 That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect: Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil purpose; They commune of laying snares privily; They say, Who will see them? 6 They search out iniquities; We have accomplished, `say they', a diligent search: And the inward thought and the heart of every one is deep. 7 But God will shoot at them; With an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded. 8 So they shall be made to stumble, their own tongue being against them: All that see them shall wag the head. 9 And all men shall fear; And they shall declare the work of God, And shall wisely consider of his doing. 10 The righteous shall be glad in Jehovah, and shall take refuge in him; And all the upright in heart shall glory. Psalm 65 For the Chief Musician. A Psalm. A song of David.
• Proverbs 16:18-19 18 Pride `goeth' before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. 19 Better it is to be of a lowly spirit with the poor, Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
• John 5:24-47 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into judgment, but hath passed out of death into life. 25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear shall live. 26 For as the Father hath life in himself, even so gave he to the Son also to have life in himself: 27 and he gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. 28 Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, 29 and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment. 30 I can of myself do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is righteous; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 31 If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32 It is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33 Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth. 34 But the witness which I receive is not from man: howbeit I say these things, that ye may be saved. 35 He was the lamp that burneth and shineth; and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light. 36 But the witness which I have is greater than `that of' John; for the works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. 37 And the Father that sent me, he hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his form. 38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he sent, him ye believe not. 39 Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; 40 and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life. 41 I receive not glory from men. 42 But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in yourselves. 43 I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. 44 How can ye believe, who receive glory one of another, and the glory that `cometh' from the only God ye seek not? 45 Think not that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, `even' Moses, on whom ye have set your hope. 46 For if ye believed Moses, ye would believe me; for he wrote of me. 47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Notes:

2 Samuel 7:14 his Father…My son. These words are directly related to Jesus the Messiah in Hebrews 1:5 5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, This day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, And he shall be to me a Son? . In Semitic thought, since the son had the full character of the father, the future seed of David would have the same essence of God. That Jesus Christ was God incarnate is the central theme of John’s Gospel. If he commits iniquity. As a human father disciplines his sons, so the Lord would discipline the seed, if he committed iniquity. This has reference to the intermediary seed until Messiah’s arrival (any king of David’s line from Solomon on). However, the ultimate Seed of David will not be a sinner like David and his descendants were, as recorded in Samuel and Kings (see 2 Cor. 5:21). Significantly, Chronicles, focusing more directly on the Messiah, does not include this statement in its record of Nathan’s words (1 Chr. 17:13).

2 Samuel 7:16 your house…your kingdom…Your throne. Luke 1:32 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: b,33 indicates that these 3 terms are fulfilled in Jesus, “…and the Lord God will give 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.” forever. This word conveys the idea of 1) an indeterminately long time or 2) into eternity future. It does not mean that there cannot be interruptions, but rather that the outcome is guaranteed. Christ’s Davidic reign will conclude human history.

Psalms 64:1 Chapter 64 1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint: Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Preserve…from fear. This word for “fear” means “dread” and is a different Hebrew word than the “fear” in verses 4 and 9. The psalmist recognized that the fear of an enemy can be as destructive as an actual assault.

John 5:36 the very works that I do. See 10:25. The miracles of Jesus were witness to His deity and messiahship. Such miracles are the major signs recorded by John in this Gospel, so as to fulfill His purpose in 20:30,31.

John 5:39 You search. Although the verb “search” could also be understood as a command (i.e., “Search the Scriptures!”), most prefer this translation as an indicative. The verb implies diligent scrutiny in investigating the Scriptures to find “eternal life.” However, Jesus points out that with all their fastidious effort, they miserably failed in their understanding of the true way to eternal life through the Son of God. testify of Me. See v. 45. Christ is the main theme of Scripture.

DAY 18: What was the Davidic Covenant?

Second Samuel 7:1–17 record the establishment of the Davidic Covenant, God’s unconditional promise to David and his posterity. While not called a covenant here, it is later (23:5). This promise is an important key to understanding God’s irrevocable pledge of a king from the line of David to rule forever (v. 16). It has been estimated that over 40 individual biblical passages are directly related to these verses (see Pss. 89; 110; 132); thus, this text is a major highlight in the Old Testament. The ultimate fulfillment comes at Christ’s Second Advent when He sets up His millennial kingdom on earth (see Ezek. 37; Zech. 14; Rev. 19).This is the fourth of 5 irrevocable, unconditional covenants made by God. The first 3 include: 1) the Noahic Covenant (Gen. 9:8–17); 2) the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 15:12–21); and 3) the Levitic or Priestly Covenant (Num. 3:1–18; 18:1–20; 25:10–13). The New Covenant, which actually provided redemption, was revealed later through Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31–34) and accomplished by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Specifically, 2 Samuel 7:8 8 Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be prince over my people, over Israel; –16 state the promises the Lord gave to David. Verses 8–11a give the promises to be realized during David’s lifetime. Verses 11b–16 state the promises that would be fulfilled after David’s death. During David’s lifetime, the Lord: 1) gave David “a great name”; 2) appointed a place for Israel; and 3) gave David “rest” from all his enemies.After David’s death, the Lord gave David: 1) a son to sit on his national throne, whom the Lord would oversee as a father with necessary chastening, discipline, and mercy (Solomon); and 2) a Son who would rule a kingdom that will be established forever (Messiah). This prophecy referred in its immediacy to Solomon and to the temporal kingdom of David’s family in the land. But in a larger and more sublime sense, it refers to David’s greater Son of another nature, Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:8).

From The MacArthur Daily Bible Copyright © 2003. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson Bibles, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc, Nashville, TN 37214, www.thomasnelson.com.

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