Last updated 2/18/17
2 Sam. 7.4-17
2 Chr. 17.4-15
The eight covenants: Edenic, Gen. 1.28; Adamic, Gen. 3.15; Noahic, Gen. 9.1; Abrahamic, Gen. 15.18; Mosaic, Ex. 19.25; Palestinian, Deut. 30.3; Davidic, 2 Sam. 7.4-17 and 1 Chr. 17.4-15; New, Heb. 8.8.
Scofield Note 1, p. 1334 to Revelation 3.21: “This passage, in harmony with Lu 1:32-33; Mt 19:28; Ac 2:30,34-35; 15:14-16 is conclusive that Christ is not now seated upon His own throne. The Davidic Covenant, and the promises of God through the prophets and Angle Gabriel concerning the Messianic kingdom await fulfilment.” Revelation 3:21 “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” Luke 1.32-33: “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Matthew 19:28 “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Acts 2:30, 34-35 “Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; … For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Until I make thy foes thy footstool.” Acts 15:14-16 “Simeon hath declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:”
Note. God has other covenants in the Bible, some not called covenants. In Jeremiah 33, e.g., God also speaks of his covenant of the day, and his covenant of the night. In Jeremiah 34.13-22, the Bible tells of another covenant, which the Israelites broke, and the consequences of that breach. It begins: “Jeremiah 34:13-14: 13 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 14 At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear.”
N2 p1297 to Heb. 8.8. “I. The Eight Covenants Summary: [This is all copied in The New Covenant file.] “I. The Eight Covenants, Summary: (1) The Edenic Covenant Cmt. on Ge 1:26 conditioned the life of man in innocency. (2) The Adamic Covenant Cmt. on Ge 3:14 conditions the life of fallen man and gives promise of a Redeemer. (3) The Noahic Covenant Cmt. on Ge 9:1. establishes the principle of human government. (4) The Abrahamic Covenant Cmt. on Ge 15:18 founds the nation of Israel, and confirms, with specific additions, the Adamic promise of redemption. (5) The Mosaic Covenant Cmt. on Ex 19:25. condemns all men, ‘for that all have sinned.’ (6) The Palestinian Covenant Cmt. on De 30:3 secures the final restoration and conversion of Israel. (7) The Davidic Covenant Cmt. on 2Sa 7:16 establishes the perpetuity of the Davidic family (fulfilled in Christ, Mt 1:1; Lu 1:31-33; Ro 1:3 and of the Davidic kingdom, over Israel, and over the whole earth; to be fulfilled in and by Christ 2Sa 7:8-17; Zec 12:8; Lu 1:31-33; Ac 15:14-17; 1Co 15:24. (8) The New covenant rests upon the sacrifice of Christ, and secures the eternal blessedness, under the Abrahamic Covenant Ga 3:13-29 of all who believe. It is absolutely unconditional, and, since no responsibility is by it committed to man, it is final and irreversible.
“II. The relation of Christ to the eight covenants is as follows: (1) To the Edenic Covenant, Christ, as the ‘second Man,’ the ‘last Adam’ 1Co 15:45-47 takes the place over all things which the first Adam lost Col 2:10; Heb 2:7-8. (2) He is the ‘Seed of the woman’ of the Adamic Covenant Ge 3:15; Joh 12:31; 1Jo 3:8; Ga 4:4; Re 20:10 and fulfilled its conditions of toil Mr 6:3 and obedience. (3) As the greatest son of Shem, in Him was fulfilled supremely the promise to Shem in the Noahic Covenant. Col 2:9. (4) He is the “Seed to whom the promises were made” in the Abrahamic Covenant; the son of Abraham obedient unto death Ge 22:18; Ga 3:16; Php 2:8. (5) He lived sinlessly under the Mosaic covenant and bore for us its curse. Ga 3:10-13. (6) He lived obediently as a Jew in the land under the Palestinian Covenant, and will yet perform it gracious promises De 28:1-30:9. (7) He is the ‘Seed,’ ‘Heir,’ and ‘King’ under the Davidic Covenant Mt 1:1; Lu 1:31-33. (8) His sacrifice is the foundation of the New Covenant Mt 26:28; 1Co 11:25.”
N2 p28 to Ge. 25.31 (Where Esau sold his birthright). “The birthright had three elements. (1) Until the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood the head of the family exercised priestly rights. (2) The Abrahamic family held the Edenic promise of the Satan-Bruiser (Gen. 3.15)—Abel, Seth, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Esau. (3) Esau, as the firstborn, was in the direct line of the Abrahamic promise of the Earth-Blesser (Gen. 12.3). For all that was revealed, in Esau might have been fulfilled those two great Messianic promises. This birthright Esau sold for a momentary fleshly gratification. Jacob’s conception of the birthright at that time was, doubtless, carnal and inadequate, but his desire for it evidenced true faith.”
Headnote to the Second Book of Samuel: “As First Samuel marks the failure of man in Eli, Saul, and even Samuel, so Second Samuel marks the restoration of order through the enthroning of God’s king, David. This book also records the establishment of Israel’s political centre in Jerusalem (2Sa 5:6-12), and her religious centre in Zion (2Sa 5:7; 6:1-17). When all was thus ordered, Jehovah established the great Davidic Covenant (2Sa 24:25) out of which all kingdom truth is henceforth developed. David, in his “last words” (2Sa 23:1-7), describes the millennial kingdom yet to be.
“The book is in four parts:I. From the death of Saul to the anointing of David over Judah, in Hebron, 1.1-27. II. From the anointing in Hebron to the establishment of David over united Israel, 2.1-5.25. III. From the conquest of Jerusalem to the rebellion of Absalom, 6.1-14.33. IV. From the rebellion of Absalom to the purchase of the temple-site, 15.1-24.25.
“The events recorded in II Samuel cover a period of 38 years (Ussher).”
2 Samuel 7:4-17: “4 And it came to pass that night, that the word of the LORD came unto Nathan, saying, 5 Go and tell my servant David, Thus saith the LORD, Shalt thou build me an house for me to dwell in? 6 Whereas I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle. 7 In all the places wherein I have walked with all the children of Israel spake I a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people Israel, saying, Why build ye not me an house of cedar? 8 Now therefore so shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel: 9 And I was with thee whithersoever thou wentest, and have cut off all thine enemies out of thy sight, and have made thee a great name, like unto the name of the great men that are in the earth. 10 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; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them any more, as beforetime, 11 And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused thee to rest from all thine enemies. Also the LORD telleth thee that he will make thee an house. 12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever. 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. 16 And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever. 17 According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.” [See Jeremiah 33 where this is called a covenant]
N2 p362 to 2 Sam. 7.16 (see also, 1 Chr. 17.7-15). “The Davidic Covenant (vs. 8-17. This covenant, upon which the glorious kingdom of Christ ‘of the seed of David according to the flesh’ is to be founded, secures:
(1) A Davidic ‘house’; i.e. posterity, family.
(2) A ‘throne’; i.e. royal authority.
(3) A kingdom; i.e. sphere of rule.
(4) In perpetuity; ‘for ever.’
(5) And this fourfold covenant has but one condition: disobedience in the Davidic family is to be visited with chastisement, but not to the abrogation of the covenant (2. Sam. 7.15; Psa. 89.20-37; Isa. 24.5; 54.3). The chastisement fell; first in the division of the kingdom under Rehoboam, and finally, in the captivities (2 Ki. 25.1-7). Since that time but one King of the Davidic family has been crowned at Jerusalem and He was crowned with thorns. But the Davidic Covenant confirmed to David by the oath of Jehovah, and renewed to Mary by the angel Gabriel, is immutable (Psa. 89.30-37), and the Lord God will yet give to that thorn-crowned One ‘the throne of his father David’ (Lk. 1.31-33; Acts 2.29-32; 15.14-17).”
“2 Sa. 7.24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God.”
Notice David’s worship and prayer in response to God’s Davidic Covenant: II Samuel 7.18-29(See also I Chronicles 17.16-27): “Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord GOD; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant’s house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? And what can David say more unto thee? for thou, Lord GOD, knowest thy servant. For thy word’s sake, and according to thine own heart, hast thou done all these great things, to make thy servant know them. Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears. And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? For thou hast confirmed to thyself thy people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God. And now, O LORD God, the word that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant, and concerning his house, establish it for ever, and do as thou hast said. And let thy name be magnified for ever, saying, The LORD of hosts is the God over Israel: and let the house of thy servant David be established before thee. For thou, O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee. And now, O Lord GOD, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant: Therefore now let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may continue for ever before thee: for thou, O Lord GOD, hast spoken it: and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.”
2 Sa. 7 “23 And what one nation in the earth is like thy people, even like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to himself, and to make him a name, and to do for you great things and terrible, for thy land, before thy people, which thou redeemedst to thee from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? 24 For thou hast confirmed to thyself they people Israel to be a people unto thee for ever: and thou, LORD, art become their God. . . .”
2 Sa. 23 “5 Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow.” (from the last words of David).
N1 to 1 Chr. 11.5 “And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David.” (Heb. castle. (1) Zion, the ancient Jebusite stronghold, is the southwest eminence in Jerusalem, called in Scripture the city of David, and associated with the Davidic royalty both historically and prophetically 1Chr. 11:7; Ps. 2:6; Is. 2:3. The word is often used of the whole city of Jerusalem considered as the city of God Ps 48:2-3 especially in passages referring to the future kingdom-age Is. 1:27; 2:3; 4:1-6; Joel 3:16; Zec. 1:16; 8:3-8; Ro. 11:26. In He. 12:22 the word is used symbolically of heaven.(2) In De. 4:48 the name is given to a projection or peak of Mount Hermon.)
1 Chr. 17:4-15 (verses 7-15 give the Davidic Covenant): “Go and tell David my servant, Thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not build me an house to dwell in: For I have not dwelt in an house since the day that I brought up Israel unto this day; but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wheresoever I have walked with all Israel, spake I a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to feed my people, saying, Why have ye not built me an house of cedars? Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel: And I have been with thee whithersoever thou hast walked, and have cut off all thine enemies from before thee, and have made thee a name like the name of the great men that are in the earth. Also I will ordain a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, and they shall dwell in their place, and shall be moved no more; neither shall the children of wickedness waste them any more, as at the beginning, And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee that the LORD will build thee an house. And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build me an house, and I will stablish his throne for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before thee: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever: and his throne shall be established for evermore. According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so did Nathan speak unto David.
N2 p475 to I Chr. 17.7 “Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:” (David is here, as often, a type of his Son after the flesh (mt. 1.1; Ro. 1.3), Jesus the Shepherd-King. At His first coming He took the shepherd’s place, first in death (Jn. 10.11), and now in resurrection power (He. 13.20). At His return He will take the place of “Ruler over Israel” (Is. 11.10-12; Je. 23.5-8; Lk. 1.32, 33; Ac. 15.14-17). This is the precise order of Ps. 22, 23, 24. In the first the good Sheppherd is giving His life for the sheep; in the second He is caring for the sheep; in the third He comes to reign as King of Glory.)
2 Chr. 21.7 “Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever.”
N2 p. 605 to Ps. 16: “The 16th Psalm is a prediction of the resurrection of the King. As a prophet David understood that, not at His first advent, but at some time subsequent to His death and resurrection Messiah would assume the Davidic throne. See Acts 2:25-31; Luke 1:32-33; Acts 15:13-17. See “Davidic Covenant,” 2 Sa 7:14, refs.; “Kingdom (O.T.),” Zech. 12:8. See Psa. 22., next in order of the Messianic Psalms.”
N1 to Ps. 72.1, p633 “Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.” (The Psalm as a whole forms a complete vision of Messiah’s kingdom so far as the O.T. revelation extended. All David’s prayers will find their fruition in the kingdom (Ps 72:20); 2Sa 23:1-4. Verse 1 refers to the investiture of the King’s Son with the kingdom, of which investiture the formal description is given in Da 7:13-14; Re 5:5-10; Ps 72:2-7,12-14 give the character of the kingdom. (Cf) Isa 11:3-9. The emphatic word is righteousness. The sermon on the Mount describes the kingdom of righteousness. Verses 8-11 speak of the universality of the kingdom. Verse 16 hints at the means by which universal blessing is to be brought in. Converted Israel will be the “handful of corn” Am 9:9 as the King Himself in death and resurrection was the single grain, the “corn of wheat” Joh 12:24 “To the Jew first” is the order alike of Church and kingdom. Ro 1:16; Ac 13:46; 15:16-17. It is through restored Israel that the kingdom is to be extended over the earth. Zec 8:13,20-23. See Psalm 89., next in order of the Messianic Psalms.)
Ps. 89 is the confirmation & exposition of the Davidic Covenant.
N1 p. 643 to Ps. 89.27: “The eighty-ninth Psalm is at once the confirmation and exposition of the Davidic Covenant 2 Sa. 7:9-14. That the covenant itself looks far beyond David and Solomon is sure from Ps. 89:27. ‘Higher than the kings of the earth’ can only refer to Immanuel. Isa. 7:13-15; 9:6-7; Mic. 5:2. The Psalm is in four parts: (1) The covenant, though springing from the lovingkindness of Jehovah, yet rests upon His oath (vs. 1-4). (2) Jehovah is glorified for His power and goodness in connection with the covenant (vs 5-18). (3) The response of Jehovah (vs. 19-37). This is in two parts: (a), it confirms the covenant (Ps 89:19-29), but (b), warns that disobedience in the royal posterity of David will be punished with chastening (Ps 89:30-32). Historically this chastening began in the division of the Davidic kingdom 1Ki 11:26-36; 12:16-20 and culminated in the captivities and that subordination of Israel to the Gentiles which still continues. See ‘Gentiles, times of’ (Lu 21:24; Re 16:14). (4) The plea of the Remnant Isa 1:9; Ro 11:5 who urge the severity and long continuance of the chastening (Ps 89:38-52). See Ps. 102, next in order of the Messianic Psalms.”
Ps. 89:3 “I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant, …” Ps. 89:28 “My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. …” Ps. 89:34 “My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. …”
THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS, p711. “* * * The future blessing of Israel as a nation rests upon the Palestinian Covenant of restoration and conversion (Deut. 30.1-9, refs.), and the Davidic Covenant of the Kingship of the Messiah, David’s Son (2 Sam. 7.8-17, refs.), and this gives to predictive prophecy its Messianic character. The exaltation of Israel is secured in the kingdom, and the kingdom takes its power to bless from the Person of the King, David’s Son, but also “Immanuel. … The predictions of the restoration from the Babylonian captivity at the end of seventy years, must be distinguished from those of the restoration from the present world-wide dispersion. The context is always clear. The Palestinian Covenant Deu 28.1-30.9 is the mould of predictive prophecy in its larger sense–national disobedience, world-wide dispersion, repentance, the return of the Lord, the regathering of Israel and establishment of the kingdom, the conversion and blessing of Israel, and the judgment of Israel’s oppressors. … Speaking broadly, then, predictive prophecy is occupied with the fulfilment of the Palestinian and Davidic Covenants; the Abrahamic Covenant having also its place.”).
Is. 11 & note 1, p723. The Davidic kingdom set up. Chapter 11 is a prophetic picture of the glory of the future kingdom. This is the kingdom announced by John the Baptist as “at Hand.” It was then rejected, but will be set up when David’s Son returns in glory (Lk. 1.31, 32; Acts 15.15, 16.)(N1 to Is. 11: The order of events in Isa. 10., 11., is noteworthy. Isa. 10. gives the distress of the Remnant in Palestine in the great tribulation. Ps 2:5; Re 7:14 and the approach and destruction of the Gentile host under the Beast. Da 7:8; Re 19:20. Is. 11. immediately follows with its glorious picture of the kingdom-age. Precisely the same order is found in Re 19., 20. (See “Kingdom,” O.T., Ge 1:26-28; Zec 12:8 N.T. Lu 1:31-33; 1Co 15:28. Also Cmt. on Mt 3:2 Cmt. on Mt 6:33.
That nothing of this occurred at the first coming of Christ is evident from a comparison of the history of the times of Christ with this and all the other parallel prophecies. So far from regathering dispersed Israel and establishing peace in the earth, His crucifixion was soon followed (A.D. 70) by the destruction of Jerusalem, and the utter scattering of the Palestinian Jews amongst the nations.).
Is. 12 deals w/the worship of the kingdom.
Is. 16.1-5. The women of Moab anticipate the Davidic kingdom.
Je. 23.1-40. The future restoration and conversion of Israel. This chapter tells the bad things the nation, the prophets, the priests, the people had done, and also “3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase….” “5 Behold, the days come saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
Je. 33. The great prophecy concerning the Davidic Kingdom. “33. [God will restore Israel and Judah]. 33: “8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. * * * 14 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. * * *.” Verses 20, 21, 25 refer to the “covenant.” In this chapter, God also speaks of his covenant of the day, and his covenant of the night.
Ez. 33.21-36.38. GENERAL THEME: THE FUTURE KINGDOM OF THE SON OF DAVID: CHAPTERS 33.21-36.38.
Ez. 34.1-10. Message to the faithless shepherds of Israel. Ez. 34.11-31. Israel to be restored: the Davidic kingdom to be set up. “… 12 … [I] will deliver [my sheep] out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. … 23 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. 24 And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it….”
PART VI [OF EZEKIEL]: GENERAL THEME: RESTORATION OF ISRAEL; THE DAVIDIC KINGDOM; JUDGMENT ON THE NATIONS: CHAPTERS 37.1-39.29.
Ez. 37. The vision of the valley of dry bones. God restores the nation Israel. “… 24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and to them….” Ezekiel 37:24-28: “And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.”
N1 to Ez. 37.1, p881. “The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,” (Having announced “Eze. 36:24-38 the restoration of the nation, Jehovah now gives in vision and symbol the method of its accomplishment. Eze. 37:11 gives the clue. The “bones” are the whole house of Israel who shall then be living. The “graves” are the nations where they dwell. The order of procedure is: (1) the bringing of the people out Eze. 37:12-14,19-27; (2) the bringing of them in (Eze. 37:12); (3) their conversion (Eze. 37:13) (4) the filling with the Spirit (Eze. 37:14). The symbol follows. The two sticks are Judah and the ten tribes; united, they are one nation (Eze. 37:19-21). Then follows (Eze. 37:21-27) the plain declaration as to Jehovah’s purpose, and Eze. 37:28 implies that then Jehovah will become known to the Gentiles in a marked way. This is also the order of Ac. 15:16-17 and the two passages strongly indicate the time of full Gentile conversion. See also Is. 11:10.)
Ho. 3.1-5. The undying love of Jehovah: the future Davidic kingdom. Hosea 3: “1 Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. 2 So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: 3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.”
Am. 9.11-12. The LORD’S return and the re-establishment of the Davidic monarchy.
Zechariah 12.
N2 to Hab. 2.3, p956 “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (To the watching prophet comes the response of the “vision” Hab 2:2-20). Three elements are to be distinguished: (1) The moral judgment of Jehovah upon the evils practised by dispersed Israel (Hab 3:19,19). (2) The future purpose of God that, practised by dispersed Israel (Hab 2:5-13,15-19). (2) The future purpose of God that, “the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea” (Hab 2:14). That this revelation awaits the return of the Lord in glory is shown (a) by the parallel passage in # Isa 11:9-12 and (b) by the quotation of verse 3 in Heb 10:37-38 where the “it” of the “vision” becomes “he” and refers to the return of the Lord. It is then, after the “vision” is fulfilled, that “the knowledge of the glory,” etc, shall fill the earth. But (3) meantime, “the just shall live by his faith.” This great evangelic word is applied to Jew and Gentile in Ro 1:17 to the Gentiles in Ga 3:11-14 and to Hebrews (especially) in Heb 10:38. This opening of life to faith alone, makes possible not only the salvation of the Gentiles during the dispersion of Israel “among the nations” Hab 1:5; Ga 3:11-14 but also makes possible a believing remnant in Israel while the nation, as such, is in blindness and unbelief, Cmt. on Ro 11:1 with neither priesthood nor temple, and consequently unable to keep the ordinances of the law. Such is Jehovah! In disciplinary government His ancient Israel is cast out of the land and judicially blinded 2Co 3:12-15 but in covenanted mercy the individual Jew may resort to the simple faith of Abraham Ge 15:6; Ro 4:1-5 and be saved. But this does not set aside the Palestinian Cmt. on De 30:3 and Davidic Cmt. on 2Sa 7:16. Covenants, for “the earth shall be filled,” etc. (Hab 2:14),and Jehovah will again be in His temple (“>Hab 2:20). Cf. Hab 2:14,”>20; Ro 11:25-27)
N1 to Hab. 2.14, p957 “For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Cf. Isa 11:9 which fixes the time when “the earth,” etc. It is when David’s righteous Branch has set up the kingdom. (See “Kingdom (O.T.),” 2Sa 7:9; Zec 12:8 also, “Kingdom (N.T.),” Lu 1:31-33; 1Co 15:28. Habakkuk’s phrase marks an advance on that of Isaiah. In the latter it is “the knowledge of the Lord.” That, in a certain sense, is being diffused now; but in Habakkuk it is “the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,” and that cannot be till He is manifested in glory Mt 24:30; 25:31; Lu 9:26; 2Th 1:7; 2:8; Jude 1:14. The transfiguration was a foreview of this. Lu 9:26-29.)
N2 p976 to Zec. 12.8. “Kingdom in O.T., Summary:
I. Dominion over the earth before the call of Abraham
(1) Dominion over creation was given to the first man and woman Ge 1:26,28. Through the fall this dominion was lost, Satan becoming “prince of this world” Mt 4:8-10; Joh 14:30.
(2) After the flood, the principle of human government was established under the covenant with Noah Cmt. on Ge 9:1. Biblically this is still the charter of all Gentile government.
II. The Theocracy in Israel. The call of Abraham involved, with much else, the creation of a distinctive people through whom great purposes of God toward the race might be worked out (see “Israel” Ge 12:1-3; Ro 11:26). Among these purposes is the establishment of a universal kingdom. The order of the development of Divine rule in Israel is:
(1) The mediatorship of Moses Ex 3:1-10; 19:9; 24:12
(2) The leadership of Joshua Jos 1:1-5
(3) The institution of Judges Jg 2:16-18.
(4) The popular rejection of the Theocracy, and choice of a king– Saul, 1Sa 8:1-7; 9:12-17.
III. The Davidic kingdom
(1) The divine choice of David 1Sa 16:1-13
(2) The giving of the Davidic Covenant 2Sa 7:8-16; Ps 89:3-4,20-21,28-37.
(3) The exposition of the David Covenant by the prophets Isa 1:25-26; Zec 12:6-8. See marg. “Kingdom” and refs. Cmt. on Isa 1:25 The kingdom as described by the prophets is:
(a) Davidic, to be established under an heir of David, who is to be born of a virgin, therefore truly man, but also “Immanuel,” “the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace” Isa 7:13; 9:6; 11:1; Jer 23:5; Eze 34:23; 37:24; Ho 3:4-5.
(b) A kingdom heavenly in origin, principle, and authority Da 2:34-35,44-45 but set up on the earth, with Jerusalem as the capital Isa 2:2-4; 4:3; 24:23; 33:20; 62:1-7; Jer 23:5; 31:38-40; Joe 3:1,16-17.
(c) The kingdom is to be established first over regathered, restored, and converted Israel, and then to become universal Ps 2:6-8; 22:1-31; 24:1-10; Isa 1:2; 11:1,10-13; 60:12; Jer 23:5-8; 30:7-11; Eze 20:33-40; 37:21-25; Zec 9:10; 14:16-19
(d) The moral characteristics of the kingdom are to be righteousness and peace. The meek, not the proud, will inherit the earth; longevity will be greatly increased; the knowledge of the Lord will be universal; beast ferocity will be removed; absolute equity will be enforced; and outbreaking sin visited with instant judgment; while the enormous majority of earth’s inhabitants will be saved Isa 11:4,6-9; 65:20; Ps 2:9; Isa 26:9; Zec 14:16-21. The N.T. Re 20:1-5, adds a detail of immense significance–the removal of Satan from the scene. It is impossible to conceive to what heights of spiritual, intellectual, and physical perfection humanity will attain in this, its coming age of righteousness and peace. Isa 11:4-9; Ps 72:1-10.
(e) The kingdom is to be established by power, not persuasion, and is to follow divine judgment upon the Gentile world-powers Ps 2:4-9; Isa 9:7; Da 2:35,44; 7:26-27; Zec 14:1-19 Cmt. on Zec 6:11.
(f) The restoration of Israel and the establishment of the kingdom are connected with an advent of the Lord, yet future De 30:3-5; Ps 2:1-9 Zec 14:4.
(g) The chastisement reserved for disobedience in the house of David 2Sa 7:14; Ps 89:30-33 fell in the captivities and world-wide dispersion, since which time, though a remnant returned under prince Zerubbabel, Jerusalem has been under the overlordship of Gentile. But the Davidic Covenant has not been abrogated Ps 89:33-37 but is yet to be fulfilled. Ac 15:14-17.”
P990: “The sphere and character of Christ’s Kingly office are defined in the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7.8-16, and refs.), as interpreted by the prophets, and confirmed by the NT. The latter in no way abrogates or modifies either the Davidic Covenant or its prophetic interpretation. It adds details which were not in the prophet’s vision. The Sermon on the Mount is an elaboration of the idea of “righteousness” as the predominant characteristic of the Messianic kingdom (Isa. 11.2-5; Jer. 23.5, 6; 33.14-16). The Old Testament prophet was perplexed by seeing in one horizon, so to speak, the suffering and the glory of Messiah (1 Pet. 1.10, 11). The NT shows that these are separated by the present church-age, and points forward to the Lord’s return as the time when the Davidic Covenant of blessing through power will be fulfilled (Lk. 1.30-33; Acts 2.29-36; 15.14-17); just as the Abrahamic Covenant of blessing through suffering was fulfilled at His first coming (Acts. 3.25; Gal. 3.6-14).
Christ’s Priestly office is the complement of His prophetic office. The prophet is God’s representative with the people; the priest is the people’s representative with God. Because they are sinful he must be a sacrificer; because they are needy he must be a compassionate intercessor (Heb. 5.1, 2; 8.1-3). So Christ, on the cross, entered upon His high-priestly work, offering Himself without spot unto God (Heb. 9.14), as not He compassionates His people in an ever-living intercession (Heb. 7.25). Of that intercession John 17 is the pattern.
Headnote to Mt. “The scope and purpose of the book are indicated in the first verse. Matthew is the “book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (MT. 1.1). This connects him at once with two of the most important of the Old Testament Covenants: the Davidic Covenant of kingship, and the Abrahamic Covenant of promise. 2Sa 7:8-16; Ge 15:18. Of Jesus Christ in that twofold character, then, Matthew writes. Following the order indicated in the first verse, he writes first of the King, the son of David; then of the Son of Abraham, obedient unto death, according to the Isaac type Ge 22:1-18; Heb 11:17-19.
“But the prominent character of Christ in Matthew is that of the covenanted King, David’s “righteous Branch” Jer 23:5; 33:15. Matthew records His genealogy; His birth in Bethlehem the city of David, according to Mic 5:2, the ministry of His forerunner according to Malachi Mal 3:1. His rejection by Israel; and His predictions of His second coming in power and great glory.
Only then (MT 26.-28.) does Matthew turn to the earlier covenant, and record the sacrificial death of the son of Abraham.
“This determines the purpose and structure of Matthew. It is peculiarly the Gospel for Israel; and, as flowing from the death of Christ, a Gospel for the whole world.
“Matthew falls into three principal divisions:
“I. The manifestation to Israel and rejection of Jesus Christ the Son of David, born King of the Jews, 1.1-25.46. The subdivisions of this part are:
(1) The official genealogy and birth of the King, 1. 1-25;
(2) the infancy and obscurity of the King, 2. 1-23;
(3) the kingdom “at hand,” 3. 1-12.50 (the order of events of this subdivision is indicated in the text);
(4) the mysteries of the kingdom, 13. 1-52;
N3 p 998 to Mt. 4.17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (“At hand” is never a positive affirmation that the person or thing said to be “at hand” will immediately appear, but only that no known or predicted event must intervene. When Christ appeared to the Jewish people, the next thing in the order of revelation as it then stood, should have been the setting up of the Davidic kingdom. In the knowledge of God, not yet disclosed, lay the rejection of the kingdom (and King), the long period of the mystery-form of the kingdom, the world-wide preaching of the cross, and the out-calling of the Church. But this was as yet locked up in the secret counsels of God. Mt 13:11,17; Eph 3:3-10.) Margin: kingdom See note #2, Cmt. on Mt 5:2. Margin: is at hand Cmt. on Mt 3:2.
Luke 1.26-38. Here the angel Gabriel says to Mary: “32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
N1 p1148 to Acts. 1.11: “* * * Taken together, the N.T. teachings concerning the return of Jesus Christ may be summarized as follows: (1) That the return is an event, not a process, and is personal and corporeal (Mt. 23, 29; 25.30; 25.31; Mk. 14.62; Lk. 17.24; John 14.3; Acts 1.11; Phil 3.20, 21; 1 Thes. 1.10; 4.14-17). (2) His coming has a threefold relation: to the church, to Israel, to the nations.
“(a) To the church the descent of the Lord into the air to raise the sleeping and change the living saints is set forth as a constant expectation and hope (Mt. 24.36-44, 48-51; 25.13; 1 Cor. 15.51; Phil. 3.20; 1 Thes. 1.10; 4.14-17; 1 Tim. 6.14; Tit. 2.13; Rev. 22.20).
“(b) To Israel, the return of the Lord is predicted to accomplish the yet unfulfilled prophecies of her national regathering, conversion, and establishment in peace and power under the Davidic Covenant (Acts 15.14-17 with Zech. 14.1-9). See “Kingdom (O.T.),” 2 Sam. 7.8-17; Zech. 13.8, note; Lk. 1.31-33; 1 Cor. 15.24, note.
“(c) To the Gentile nations the return of Christ is predicted to bring the destruction of the present political world-system (Dan. 2.34, 35; Rev. 9. 19.11, note); the judgment of Mt. 25.31-46, followed by world-wide Gentile conversion and participation in the blessings of the kingdom (Isa. 2.2-4; 11.10; 60.3; Zech. 8.3, 20, 23; 14.16-21)”].
N1 p1150 to Acts. 2.14. “[“* * * [Peter, in his 1st sermon, preaches that Christ is the Messiah, an unwelcome message to the Jews bc they were expecting as promised, a regathered Israel established in their own land under their covenanted King (e.g. Isa. 11.10-12; Jer. 23.5-8; Ezk. 37.21-28).] Instead of explaining, as Rome 1st taught, followed by some Protestant commentators, that the covenant and promises were to be fulfilled in the church in a so-called “spiritual” sense, Peter shows (vs. 25-32) from Psa. 16 that David himself understood that the dead and risen Christ would fulfill the covenant and sit on his throne (Lk. 1.32, 33). In precisely the same way James (Acts 15.14-17) met the same difficulty. See “Kingdom (O.T.),” Zech. 12.8; (N.T.). Lk. 1.33; 1 Cor. 15.24.]
Acts 2.25-31. David foretold Messiah’s kingship after resurrection.
N1 p1153 to Acts 3:21 “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Gr. apokatastaseos = restoration, occurring here and Ac 1:6 only. The meaning is limited by the words: “Which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets.” The prophets speak of the restoration of Israel to the land (see “Israel,” Ge 12:2-3; Ro 11:26 also “Palestinian Covenant,” De 30:1-9. Cmt. on De 30:3 and of the restoration the theocracy under David’s Son. (See “Davidic Covenant,” 2Sa 7:8-17). Cmt. on 2Sa 7:16, “Kingdom,” Ge 1:26-28. Cmt. on Zec 12:8. No prediction of the conversion and restoration of the wicked dead is found in the prophets, or elsewhere. CF Re 20:11-15.)
N2 to Ac. 3.21, p1153. “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Gr. apokatastaseos = restoration, occurring here and Ac 1:6 only. The meaning is limited by the words: “Which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets.” The prophets speak of the restoration of Israel to the land (see “Israel,” Ge 12:2-3; Ro 11:26 also “Palestinian Covenant,” De 30:1-9. Cmt. on De 30:3 and of the restoration the theocracy under David’s Son. (See “Davidic Covenant,” 2Sa 7:8-17). Cmt. on 2Sa 7:16, “Kingdom,” Ge 1:26-28. Cmt. on Zec 12:8. No prediction of the conversion and restoration of the wicked dead is found in the prophets, or elsewhere. CF Re 20:11-15.).
Acts 13.16–43. Paul’s sermon in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia. Theme: Justification by faith. vs. 38, 39. “Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus: When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.”
N1p1169 to Acts 15.13 “And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:” (Dispensationally, this is the most important passage in the N.T. It gives the divine purpose for this age, and for the beginning of the next. (1) The taking out from among the Gentiles of a people for His name, the distinctive work of the present, or church-age. The church is the ecclesia–the “called-out assembly.” Precisely this has been in progress since Pentecost. The Gospel has never anywhere converted all, but everywhere has called out some. (2) “After this viz. the out-calling I will return.” James quotes from Am 9:11-12. The verses which follow in Amos describe the final regathering of Israel, which the other prophets invariably connect with the fulfilment of the Davidic Covenant (e.g.) Isa 11:1,10-12; Jer 23:5-8. (3) “And will build again the tabernacle of David,” i.e. re-establish the Davidic rule over Israel 2 Sa. 7:8-17; Lu. 1:31-33. (4) “That the residue of men Israelites may seek after the Lord” cf Zec 12:7; 13:1-2. (5) “And all the Gentiles,” etc. cf Mic. 4:2; Zec. 8:21-22. This is also the order of Ro. 11:24-27.)
N3 p1226 to 1 Cor. 15.24. Kingdom (N.T.) Summary.
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